Growing Chefs! Ontario: OTF Helps Growing Chefs! Ontario open new Food Education Centre at The Grove at Western Fair District

In 2020, we were thrilled to receive a three-year, $423,700 Grow grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to expand our food education programming. This grant has helped to support our staffing and programming costs and has allowed us to open a new programming facility at The Grove at Western Fair District!

On April 19, we were excited to welcome London North Centre MPP Terence Kernaghan to see our Beginner Culinary Program in action at The Grove. MPP Kernaghan toured our teaching kitchen and our Growing Community Greenhouse, both of which were made possible by this grant! 

“Growing Chefs! is one of the most unique organizations in London, and I’m so excited to see this expansion at The Grove. Families in London are so lucky to have this space for children of all ages to learn food literacy and how to support a healthy and sustainable environment. Congratulations Growing Chefs!”

- Terence Kernaghan, London North Centre MPP

With our new Food Education Center, we will be able to reach an additional 3500 participants a year! Through field trips and programs at The Grove, participants will improve their food literacy and their understanding of food systems by learning about the environmental, economic and social impacts that their food choices have on the world. In our new facility, we are able to accommodate larger groups, have wheelchair accessibility and offer year-round programming to a wider age range.

“The vision for this new programming facility has been in the works for over ten years here at Growing Chefs! To finally see it come to life has been a dream come true! We are hopeful that this facility will not only help us address longstanding waitlists for our programs here in London, but also that it will serve as a model for other municipalities across Ontario as we look to change the role that food education plays in our schools and our communities now and into the future.” 

- Andrew Fleet, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Growing Chefs! Ontario