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What is the Cumberland County School Food Project?

In January of 2002 a 22-month pilot project was introduced to Oxford Regional High and Elementary Schools in Oxford , Nova Scotia . The  Cumberland County School Food Project (CCSFP) is an initiative designed to increase and sustain partnership activities with the agricultural community for the dual purpose of enhancing the nutritional quality of foods at schools while increasing the amount of foods that are purchased/produced locally.

There are five major objectives of the CCSFP as follows:

1. To build and sustain partnership with the agricultural community as a primary advisor/supplier for this pilot initiative.
2. To identify potential value-added opportunities for the agricultural community respecting this pilot as well as its long-term “adoption” province wide.
3. To identify and develop a food distribution system between local producers/ processors and school cafeterias.
4. To increase the percentage of students making healthy food choices in school, to increase their awareness of the benefits of making such choices with respect to overall health, and to improve the selection of healthy food choices available to students at school.
5. To develop a strong sense of community support for health and local economic development with specific emphasis upon the significant direct and indirect role played by the agricultural community in the long-term growth of the region.

The CCSFP is sponsored by the Cumberland Regional Economic Development Association (CREDA) and is a multi-partnership effort. The project is managed by a community based Steering Committee that includes representation from CREDA, the NS Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Public Health Services, School Staff, students, parents, community members, Compass Foods, the Federation of Agriculture, and others. 

The CCSFP is intended to be a 22-month pilot initiative at the Oxford Regional High/ Elementary Schools and has two distinct phases. Phase I commenced in December of 2001 and was completed in April 2002 (4 months). The goal of Phase I was to develop the framework for a longer term vision.  This included partnership development, research and data collection, communication planning, and opportunity identification. Funding for Phase I included financial support from Diabetes Canada and the Cumberland Regional Economic Development Association (CREDA), as well as in-kind contributions provided by key stakeholders as represented on the Project Steering Committee.

The project is currently in phase II of development.    Phase II has received financial support from the Canadian Agricultural Rural Communities Initiative, the SOAR wellness fund, Agri-Futures Canada, the Agri-Food Industry Development Fund and CREDA, as well as in-kind contributions provided by key stakeholders.  Initiatives of phase II include product taste-testing sessions for students, nutrition and agricultural information, and field trips to local food producers/processors.   Phase II is intended to span 18 months and will complete the pilot stage at which point local sustainability is expected as well as adoption of the pilot in other communities in Nova Scotia.

Last modified: June 30, 2003