The nutrition program at Dr. Brass School is getting a makeover.
The school was one of ten in the province to receive $10,000 as part of the Mosaic Extreme Makeover Challenge. Principal Jason Gordon said that they are proud that they were one of the ten schools selected in the province to get a grant from the program.
There will be two main components to what Dr. Brass is doing. The first is replacing the commercial dishwasher at the school. That has already been installed, and Gordon said the significant cost of the dishwasher made the grant a big help to the school.
The second is a new component to the nutrition program which will be implemented in the next school year. The school is going to start including First Nations traditions in the food program. Gordon said their goal was to aid the reconciliation process by getting people to bond and learn from each other over food.
“It’s a call to action within the truth and reconciliation throughout Canada. We wanted to have our largest student population have an opportunity to share their ways of knowing and the food they have grown to love. All cultures will be enhanced by that.”
The plan is to have elders come in to help cook traditional food while explaining the traditions and where the food came from, and Gordon believes it will have an impact far beyond the classroom.
“If the kids are able to learn that new process, maybe they will add it into their own daily routines.”
The program will start in the 2019-20 school year, and Gordon said that their goal now is to bring the community together to help present the program.
“We are looking for elders, we are looking for people to get involved, we are looking for families to share their knowledge with the future students of Dr. Brass School.”
The nutrition program feeds upwards of 200 students on a daily basis at Dr. Brass School.
