Kids Community Plant First Seeds in Garden Project

An excited group of 20 children planted their first seeds at the Kids Culinary Community Event in Oakville last Saturday.

This ground breaking initiative, which includes a wheelchair garden, allows children and their mentors the opportunity to plant, grow and harvest their own vegetables, giving them an understanding of where their food comes from. The children actively participate in the growth cycle of food, and will learn to prepare meals with the vegetables they’ve harvested themselves.

 

Supporting the occasion with cheers and speeches were Director and Founder of Kids Culinary Community Julia Hanna, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, Rosanne and Anthony Longo, Silvio Guglietti of Rosehaven Homes, Lou Bada of Starlane Homes and Eric Chanyi with his mother-in-law Mary Shabatura, 4th generation farmers who’ve been supplying Longo’s  with fruit and vegetables for 38 years. 

Julia Hanna is a well-known Oakville Chef and Restaurateur and the driving force behind Ristorante Julia and Ritorno. Kids Culinary Community (KCC) is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to educating children about healthy eating through hands-on experience. The KCC’s founding partner is Longo’s. Proud supporters and sponsors of the KCC are Rosehaven Homes and Starlane Homes, who together donated the land for the garden.

 

“One of the most important relationships we have in life is our relationship with food” says Julia  “How we feel about ourselves is directly related to how we feel about food. We want our children to connect with food in a healthy way. The goal of the KCC is to give children a solid foundation.” 

 

“I believe that what we have started here will be a role model for other municipalities," she says. "We have great support here within the community."

Silvano Tardella of NAK Design Group designed the project and construction of the garden was led by Leon Denbok of Denbok Landscaping, who both donated their time and expertise. Children enrolled in the program will tend to the garden throughout the summer, with the help of volunteers.

The community garden is located within the new Woodland Trails neighbourhood, at Neyagawa Blvd. and Dundas St. in Oakville, Ontario.

For further details please visit www.kidsculinary.ca.