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Youth in Food Systems - Summer Recap

As summer winds down, we are taking time to reflect on our youth work this season in Waterloo Region!

As many of you reading this know, our youth program, Youth in Food Systems (YFS), operates provincially, engaging youth across Ontario in food systems learning and exploration. We also have projects that run exclusively in Waterloo Region, where our office and staff members are located.

The end of summer is a bittersweet time; saying goodbye to the incredible summer staff and the dozens of youth that made this summer truly magical. At the same time, we are PROUD of all that our team has achieved. Our youth Market Leaders and Garden Leaders created thriving community spaces for food production and distribution, all while building relationships, skills, and hopefully having a ton of fun!

Thank you to every single person who played a role in the success of the season!

Growing Food at Schools - The Youth Led Gardens

Since 2017, Youth in Food Systems has been supporting school-based food production, building our network of 47 gardens across the Region. And since 2021, we have been operating youth teams in gardens over the crucial summer months when schools are out and many spaces don’t have reliable maintenance plans. This enables the gardens to keep flourishing while simultaneously having valuable, hands-on space for youth learning and leadership. It’s truly a win-win!

During 2023 and 2024, our beloved partner, Nurture, spearheaded the youth-led gardens in collaboration with our programming. Sadly, due to funding cuts they were unable to continue operating so YFS was back at it for 2025!

This year, we selected six garden spaces based on the need for summer support, garden size and capability to grow a meaningful amount of food, and the proximity to our Market locations.

So, what did the season look like? How did it go?

In June, we hosted a Garden Leader training day at Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, where 20 youth came out to learn about growing, caring for, and harvesting food, supporting community, and working collaboratively to carry out real in-garden projects. This was their first chance to meet one another and the adult allies working alongside them.

Then, for eight weeks, they took over! Each garden consisted of 3-8 youth working to care for and improve the spaces, and harvesting regularly for the Youth Food Market. Each team had a $200 Garden Improvement Fund to support their own creations and ideas in the garden. The prompt: how can you, as a team, leave the space better than the way you found it in early July?

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Map showcasing the locations of the gardens, Markets, and our project farm partners

Bringing Food to Market - The Youth Food Market

The Youth Food Market is a series of pop up produce stalls, run by youth, in priority neighbourhoods. Youth are at the center of designing, planning, and executing the market – everything from marketing to produce ordering to day-of sales and customer service – while building confidence and leadership skills.

The project began way back in 2021 with just two Market days, one in each July and August. Ten youth gathered to carry out a market at Seven Shores Community Cafe in Uptown Waterloo, just two blocks from our office. The following two years, that number doubled each year and in 2024, we had reached a total of 11 Market days at two priority locations selected in collaboration with Public Health.

This year, the Market grew significantly once again to a total of 21 Market days across three locations in Kitchener and Cambridge, and operated using a pay-what-you-choose model of selling fresh, local produce from farm partners and the school garden teams.

We also joined forces with the Cambridge Food Bank for the Cambridge location at rare Charitable Research Reserve, the start of exciting and valuable partnerships with organizations leading the way in equitable, sustainable food access. The other two locations were our long-standing spot at Eastwood C.I. that we cherish immensely, and a new location at the Victoria Hills Community Centre.

Ahead of the main season, youth participants take part in training, field trips, learning opportunities, and collaborative sessions to plan and prepare for the Markets.

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Looking Ahead

Building on the amazing accomplishments of our youth leaders this season, we are ready to begin planning for 2026! Increasing garden yields, expanding field trips and training activities, exploring new neighbourhoods for the Market. The possibilities are endless and we can’t wait to share what’s next!