Frederic Serre
The Advocate

The Quebec government wants more young people to be interested in farming, and it’s injecting $1.5 million to boost a program that will see more than 7,200 kids from 36 elementary schools in seven regions of Quebec benefiting from a new initiative that fosters healthy eating.

Quebec Agriculture Minister André Lamontagne made the announcement on Nov. 28, saying the funding, through its AgrÉcoles workshops, will support nine additional schools while offering learning activities in areas like gardening, local agriculture and healthy eating.

“With this program, agriculture takes its place in Quebec’s classrooms,” said Lamontagne. “This additional support will enable a growing number of students across the province to develop their curiosity about agriculture and its trades, and to learn about the importance of healthy, local food.”

According to Education Minister Bernard Drainville, the school environment is ideal for integrating educational notions about food, and the program appeals to the intelligence of young people in a playful setting, to make them aware of the importance of healthy eating.

“By discovering the origins and pathways of the food they eat, students acquire notions that will enable them to make sensible choices throughout their lives,” he said, adding that since 2019, AgrÉcoles has received more than $4.3 million in funding from Quebec.

The nine new schools to be added to the program include: École Villa-de-la-Jeunesse in Saint-Élie-de-Caxton; École La Providence in Saint-Tite; École du Zénith in Shefford; École Saint-Vincent-Ferrier in Bromont; École du Christ-Roi in Saint-Camille; École Rinfret in Sainte-Ursule; École Belle-Vallée in Saint-Justin; École Lévesque in Saint-Donat and École Henri-Bourassa and Soleil-de-l’Aube in Repentigny.