Inspired by the 2016 School Garden Scan of Waterloo Region and the increasingly apparent need to engage young people in food literacy and food systems sustainability work, Seeds of Diversity secured funding to support school food garden builds, led by coordinator Jill Byers.
During 2017-2018, this project, aptly named Waterloo Region School Food Gardens (WRSFG), provided $1500 grants to 12 elementary and high schools to build food producing gardens on school grounds.
In 2019, Seeds of Diversity was awarded a three-year Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to continue this work. During these years, an additional 35 gardens were constructed, expanded, and/or reinvigorated at schools and early learning centers throughout Waterloo Region, for a total of 47 gardens in the network by the end of 2022. In addition to the initial builds, WRSFG staff supported learning activities, annual inputs, and summer maintenance for gardens in need. This work wasn't without its challenges, as the COVID-19 pandemic made many school grounds inaccessible for long periods of time. It was during the difficult and ever-evolving pandemic period that Youth in Food Systems was conceptualized.