Food: The Heart of Care
Location: Riverside Events Centre, 500 Blair Street, Fergus, Ontario N1M 1S4
In this interactive workshop, we’ll delve into the idea of food as the heart of care, exploring how preparing and sharing meals can be powerful acts of love for cooks, children, families, and educators. We’ll collaborate to create some delicious food as we explore these concepts and put them into practice. Together, we’ll discuss the many roles of food beyond nutrition, exploring how it can nurture social relationships, foster cultural identity, and help develop children’s sense of well-being. We’ll generate creative ideas for using food to help children build meaningful connections with their peers, families, and the natural world. In this workshop, the group will work collaboratively to transform ingredients into a delicious soup and side dishes (flatbread and dips), which will be shared. This workshop draws inspiration and concepts from the book Illuminating Care, by Carol Garboden Murray.
Workshop Goals:
- To support cooks, dietary planners and early years professionals on their pedagogical journeys through reflective practice, inviting them to examine their roles and broaden their understanding of food
- To actively engage participants in hands-on activities that bring theory to life through simple, inclusive, and joyful experiences
- To celebrate the role of the cook in the early years setting and support participants in highlighting and communicating the positive impacts of their work with children, educators and families
- To provide participants with an opportunity for an open exchange of ideas; sharing perspectives, exchanging recipes, and continued conversations, centered around the topic of food and their work
To register for this session, please click here.
About the facilitators:
Janet holds a BSc as a Specialist in Nutritional Science, and a Master of Health Science in Health Promotion, from University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. She founded Rainbow Plate with a mission to translate theory into practice; to bring a vibrant and fresh approach to food education for children.
Rainbow Plate’s joyful, colourful, and sensory-based approach is backed by evidence, including our own published evaluation. It has been woven into engaging programs and resources that inspire children to cultivate lifelong positive relationships with food and eating. Rainbow Plate programs and tools have reached more than 20,000 children and adults across Canada and around the world. After years facilitating experiential workshops for children, Janet is now focused on supporting educators, parents, caregivers, and health professionals through practical workshops and resources. She has inspired the advancement of food literacy in early years organizations, schools, summer camps, public health, and community settings.
In addition to her academic background, Janet is a proud mom and a grandmother. Her work is rooted in evidence and seasoned with the flavours of real-life experience.
Rainbow Plate's home page is https://www.rainbowplate.com/
Personal information is collected under the authority of the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014. The information will be used to administer and manage this event, including registration, and communication. The County will share your name and email address with the external event facilitator solely for the purpose of delivering and coordinating this event. If you have questions about this collection, contact Cheryl Anderson, Manager of Children’s Early Years Community Services with the County of Wellington at 519.837.3620 x3972.