SD42 pilot will bring freeze-dried apple snacks to elementary schools

Freeze-dried apple “fries” will be the first snack offered through a pilot project aimed at providing nutritious food to students in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. The new partnership between the Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) and School District 42 (SD42) connects the food bank’s food-preservation work with local growers and the district’s universal school nutrition program.

Jeannie Harnett, program manager for SD42’s Community Connections and Healthy Living/Food Security, approached GVFB about preserved-food options for the district’s school food-security program. The pilot launched at Golden Ears Elementary on Sept. 28 and has since expanded to support all elementary schools in the district. Harnett said healthy food helps support students throughout the school day and the district is excited to build the partnership. She said the universal program is designed to let students access food in a welcoming and inclusive way; the pilot adds another nutritious option and strengthens connections among local food, community partners and schools.

The freeze-dried snacks were made from surplus Okanagan apples. GVFB CEO David Long said the non-profit continues to find ways to extend the shelf life of nutritious surplus food and make it available to communities for longer. He said the pilot is one way the food bank uses preservation to help the community, bringing B.C.-grown food into school nutrition programming in a practical new way. Long said the food bank saw an opportunity worth exploring when SD42 approached; GVFB has relationships with local growers and is building more capacity to preserve nutritious surplus food. SD42 already has an established program that provides healthy food to students each day. Bringing those strengths together, he said, offers a practical way to support students now and learn what the partnership could make possible in the future.

SD42’s elementary school food program supports 22 schools, serves breakfast to approximately 1,500 students each day and distributes close to 9,000 snacks each week. Schools already receive a range of nutritious foods through the district’s ordering and delivery system, and the pilot will add a preserved fruit option. SD42 will receive a weekly delivery of preserved apple snacks for participating elementary schools. The pilot is also intended to help both organizations understand how preserved foods can complement the district’s existing program and inform possible future expansion of the partnership.

GVFB provides direct distribution support in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and the North Shore, and works with more than 160 agency partners across the province. The project is one example of how investments in food preservation, distribution and partnerships can extend nutritious surplus food beyond traditional food bank distribution. More information is available at www.foodbank.bc.ca.