Harvest Party 2016

Global Roots 2016 came to a celebratory end on Oct 31, with a Harvest Party and Halloween Party!

Some participants came dressed in wigs and funky glasses to celebrate the halloween.

Roy looking bright in purple!

Jiawen rocking the blue locks!

Angelita, our Filipino senior gardener joining in the dress-up!

Carving pumpkins in celebration of Halloween

Others brought a wide range of delicious cultural food to share with everyone else, potluck style!

Maria, our Italian senior gardener, Urszula, our Polish senior gardener and Kulwant, our South Asian senior gardener crossing cultural and linguistic barriers and enjoying one another's company, and the delicious food. 

This wonderful program run in partnership between The Stop Community Food Centre and CultureLink provides the senior and youth newcomer participants with the resources and opportunity to plant and grow their own food, and also to engage in cultural exchange through the sharing of gardening knowledge, food and cooking.

This inter-generational program encourages interaction between folks regardless of age. 

The youth and senior participants also benefit from one another through socializing, exchange of ideas, and helping one another in the gardens.

Wendy and Joyce enjoying some fresh soup cooked with ingredients from the garden. 

One of the most significant benefit of the program is that participants get the opportunity to have access to fresh, organic produce. The difference between organic produce and conventional produce can be noticed in taste and quality of the food that is shared during the program.

Jangchup and Sonam cooking up some Tibetan momos made with organic produce from their garden. 

Final clean up of the garden for the end of the growing season

The physical activity that everyone get from the actual gardening also provides mental and physical health benefits. Some of the senior participants even reported that they sleep especially well every Monday, after the program activity!

Chinese senior gardeners recognized for their participation

Thanks volunteer, Tala, The Stop staff, Angel, CultureLink staff, Lynda and so many others for helping make this program a success!

The Harvest Party brings the 2016 growing season to an end. Stay tuned for the next season starting again in April 2017! Contact CultureLink at 416 588 6288 for more information.

Noodle Making Workshop at Global Roots

Global Roots is a program run by The Stop Community Food Centre and CultureLink, for newcomer seniors and youth to share time, knowledge and camaraderie through gardening and food. Today, the Italian senior gardeners taught everyone how to make noodles from scratch!

Noodle making workshop by Italian #senior gardeners at #globalroots by @TheStopCFC and @CultureLinkTO pic.twitter.com/tcNmPeeAIr

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) October 17, 2016

Here's the basic recipe:
100 g  all purpose flour
1         egg
Estimated amount of water, enough to make the dough stick together nicely.

The Italian seniors were very patient in their explanation. Everyone else was very happy to get to see the demonstration from start to finish. The process is not difficult, but it is somewhat tedious and time consuming.

Yves getting in on the action of rolling out the noodle dough

 We have to first mix the ingredients, then cut the dough into palm sized blocks, flatten each of them out using the noodle making machine, and fold and flatten each of them repeatedly, then roll them through the machine again to cut them into noodle-thin strips, and coating the dough with flour every step of the way, to prevent sticking.

Yay noodles! Noodle making workshop by Italian #senior gardeners of #globalroots by @TheStopCFC and @CultureLinkTO pic.twitter.com/vzA0qFP52p

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) October 17, 2016

Fatoumata, Janeila and Isidora helping separate the noodles using flour.

Despite the multiple steps we had to go through to make the noodles, the end result was incredibly satisfying. The noodles were cooked in a big pot and dressed in two different styles of sauces made by Angel, our staff from The Stop. It was delicious!

Noodles almost ready for taste test! #globalroots at @TheStopCFC and @Culturelinkto pic.twitter.com/HkeH52EcjJ

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) October 17, 2016

The gardening season is almost over, so things in the gardens are winding down. There's still lots to do to clean and prepare for the next growing season. Next week, we will be planting garlic bulbs and mulching the gardens for the winter.

Check out our find

Look what we found in the gardens! Raspberry and chilis! #globalroots by @CultureLinkTO @TheStopCFC pic.twitter.com/JYI9UPNt08

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) October 17, 2016

We will be celebrating the last day of our program for this season on Oct 31. Join us for our Harvest Party + Halloween celebration!

YRC - Girls Cooking Workshop on Monday Sept. 26, 2016

The girls creating their healthy lunches. 

(left to right - Janeila, Hannah, and Fatoumata)

                                                                         Time to eat!!

Scavenger Hunt at Dufferin Grove Farmers Market

Farmers Markets are scattered all over Toronto all seven days of the week during the summer months, and some even run all year round. Farmers markets are a great way to buy our groceries because they tend to sell local, seasonal produce. That means food that has been produced not too far away from Toronto, and also harvested not long ago.

Daryl, Levitt and Eric goofing around. 

Dufferin Grove's Farmers Market stands out because not only does it run year round, it also sells mostly organic produce. In addition, genetically modified foods (GMO) are not allowed here, which means whatever you get here at this market is natural and healthy for you. 

Jose and Shania learning about mushrooms from a vendor at the market. 

On Sep 22, we went to visit the Dufferin Grove Farmers Market and played a game of Scavenger Hunt, where we were challenged to speak with the vendors about the passion around healthy, good food. Through the activity, we got to learn more about what it means for a produce to be labelled organic, gluten-free, and also why sustainable farming is important for our environment. 

David, Brandon and Jay getting some selfie shots with the organic honey vendor. 

After completing the challenge, we also got the chance to sample some of the lovely offerings at the farmers market. We got to try sheep milk ice-cream, fresh poutine, hand-baked cookies etc. What a treat!

Join us next Thursday at Sankofa Drop-in Program at CultureLink!

Cook and Share with Global Roots

It's pizzas galore, on this beautiful mid-September Monday afternoon! The seniors from the Italian Garden of CultureLink's Global Roots program made pizzas and for everyone.

We got busy in the kitchen. Everyone was chopping peppers, rolling out the dough, oiling the pans, putting on the topping, frying the Italian pancakes and so on. It was a very exciting experience!

Beautiful pizzas just came out of the oven! #globalroots at @TheStopCFC by @CultureLinkTO's Italian senior gardeners pic.twitter.com/tWEkOZQWos

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) September 19, 2016

And then the food started to smell delicious! The kitchen was warm, but we enjoyed staying for the mouthwatering aroma of the delightful pizzas coming out of the oven and the delectable Italian-style cheese pancakes coming out of the sizzling pans.

All we could do was hope for a piece of pancake or a side of the pizzas to break off, and claim the morsel, while loudly exclaiming that it's for the common good.

Friendships in the kitchen are the best! #globalroots @Culturelinkto @TheStopCFC pic.twitter.com/XnbV8mL1AT

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) September 19, 2016

We had many lovely little chats while we were preparing the food. We got to know each other better, through food, and exchanging pieces of information about our daily lives, and our lives from back home.

Amazing spread! #globalroots @CultureLinkTO @TheStopCFC pic.twitter.com/T70wRuuDLp

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) September 19, 2016

Everyone had a good time! We were very thankful to the seniors for cooking and sharing with us. This will be a treasured memory for a long time to come.

Global Roots is an intergenerational program offered by CultureLink in partnership with The Stop. It gives youth and senior newcomers the opportunity to garden and share good food through the exchange of knowledge and culture. This program runs until the end of October. Click here to find out more.

Mid-season Pizza Party at Global Roots

Every year, mid-planting season, Global Roots participants celebrate our time together by sharing good food.

Deliciousness reflected in the happy smiles! @Culturelinkto #youth at #globalroots at @TheStopCFC pizza party pic.twitter.com/u21qrn7gl4

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) June 20, 2016

This Monday, we had a pizza party, and as the name suggests, everyone enjoyed some wonderfully delicious pizzas!

Pizza making on the spot

Sharing a moment at the pizza dough rolling station

Piling on the yummy ingredients for the pizza to be fired up in the outdoor wood stove.

Global Roots is an intergenerational gardening program run in partnership between The Stop Community Food Centre and CultureLink that connects newcomer youth and seniors through activities like gardening, learning about food and food equity issues. 

Participants work hard in their garden plots every Monday

These ladies love tending to their beautiful flowers

Plants, like us need lots of water and tender loving care

Happy to be in the Global Roots program!

Not only do the participants get to enjoy harvesting the hard work they put in, the friendship that is built through the program also lasts a long time

A goodbye token to our beloved staff, Mik, from The Stop

Fun time music and dance with @CultureLinkTO  #globalroots folks at @TheStopCFC pic.twitter.com/j46zNjwoXY

— CultureLink Youth (@CLinkYouth) June 20, 2016

We'll keep coming back, Global Roots!

Harvesting our delicious, nutritious hard work

Global Roots is an intergenerational gardening program that connects newcomer youth and seniors through activities like gardening, learning about food and food equity issues. 

We are only in the month of June, and there are already lots of delicious greens to harvest. Garlic scapes, basil, bak choy, lettuce, kale and arugula were harvested. We also planted some other flowers and seedlings into the plots that are now ready for growing more stuff.

Youth and seniors harvesting delicious greens in the early-mid season

This program in partnership between The Stop Community Food Centre and CultureLink benefits the newcomer youth and seniors profoundly. The youth get to learn about growing their own food, and to learn from the seniors in the program. They also get to learn about other cultures through mingling with all the other senior and youth participants of the program who are from diverse cultural backgrounds. The seniors also welcome the help of the youth in doing the heavier part of the gardening work.

Lettuce, kale and bak choy galore!

Best of all, the participants all get to bring home a share of their own hard labour. What can be better in building friendship than through the sharing of good, delicious, healthy food?

Youth excited about splitting up the lettuce and arugula loot.

There are many opportunities for youth to take part in gardening! If you are interested in joining us, check out the information here.

You can also check out the following for other food education and gardening opportunities:

• The Stop's Food Leadership for Youth
• Access Alliance's Green Access Program
• Seeds for Change
• Toronto Youth Food Policy Council
• Grow to Learn School Yard Gardening Program
• City of Toronto's Urban Agriculture Program for Children

By: Lynda Young

Great Big Crunch 2016

We participated in Foodshare's Great Big Crunch again this year!

 It is a day to celebrate fresh food, good food, and acknowledge the importance of fresh, healthy eating.

"Crunch!"

Check out this blog about our previous participation in the Great Big Crunch!

Salve Workshop for Global Roots participants

Tomato Plant

The youth garden at Global Roots, it's coming along guys.

Making Smoothies

Smoothies

On Thursday, it was Smoothies and games day! We did many funny games, like Lemon Spinning and Fruit Basket. And we had yummy smoothies made out of bananas, kiwis, apples and strawberries, with a bit yogurt, water and honey. It tasted amazing!




Smoothies

   

The lemon spinning game

Our Christmas Tree

Richard got his prize for the most right answers in the Ontario Science Centre when we went there on Sunday, September 29, 2013.



At the end we decorated a Christmas tree to get in Christmas mood.

Written by: Paula Russ
Edited by: Lynda Young
Posted by:  Jessica Wang


Cookie Baking

Flyura led the cookie baking session on September 12 2013. She looked up the recipe for a healthy cookie, and listed down the ingredients we needed, included flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, butter, and almond before the session. After we got ready our baking equipment as well as some water. We got started.

   We firstly mushed the hard butter into crumbles, and mixed it with brown sugar in the first mixing bowl. The second mixing bowl was for mixing oatmeal and flour. After adding some water, we mixed all the ingredients together, evenly. We used the foil paper to cover a rubber mat which was for toasting to make a hard bottom. Then, it was about time to pour out the cookie dough on the foil paper. Unfortunately, we only had a small toaster oven. So, there wasn’t enough room to get each cookie shaped separately. As it turned out, The result was one big cookie!

   We played couple of games while we were waiting. For the first one, everyone got a note paper to write 4 things about ourselves. And Flyura collected all the papers. Then, she shuffled them, and handed them out randomly. We had to read the listed items one by one and guess who wrote the items on the paper that we were each given. David guessed mine right immediately. The one I got was from Tiffany, but I didn’t even consider the handwriting would be hers at all!

   

   The other game was about about food and nutrition. Everyone had to pick their favorite dish to cook, and I chose Lasagna. We had to write down three main ingredients from the dish that we each picked. Then, we got to split up into pairs. Our task was to create a new dish with the ingredients that you and your partner had. My partner and I came up with the idea of a hamburger with bread substituted by fried eggs, tomato sauce, cheese and beef. Others made pizza, chicken with rice and etc. Then, we got to vote for the group we liked. The winners were Tiffany and David!

  

   When the cookies were finally ready, Flyura split up the big cookie and distributed them to us one by one. It tasted awesome!!! Thank you Flyura! She has done a really good job as a peer leader!

   These two games were really fun! It helped us know more about one another and we learned to use creative ways to try out new dishes. The most exciting thing was we learned how to make these healthy and tasty  almond cookies! Got a new recipe!

Written by: Jessica Wang

                                                                                Edited by: Lynda Young

                                                                                Posted by: Jessica Wang

Wintegration Reflection

What I think of CultureLink's Wintegration Program, is that it has provided a very nice environment for us to learn all the things from the different speakers who come to speak to us. Through the various activities, we learnt important lessons on healthy living, fitness and nutrition. The program provided lots of opportunities for us to try out different sports, watch games or visit some other programs, and make new friends. We also got to enjoy lots of different healthy and yummy snacks.

My friends recommended this program to me when I first came to Canada, and started going to Western Technical Commercial School. After hearing about the program's nice environment, and that it provides opportunities for me to earn volunteer hours, which I needed, I registered.

I was not disappointed. I got to learn a lot from being a part of this program. One of the most memorable sessions we did was talk about apples. We learnt the history, customs and even some geographical facts about apples. We discussed fun facts and nutritional facts about apples, and I learnt that apples are a great source of fibre and vitamin C, especially when the skin is left on. Everyone also ate an apple each that day, to participate in Foodshare's Great Big Crunch 2013. The Ontario grown apples were fresh and very yummy!

We also got to learn about the importance staying active and fit, and had the opportunity to try out different sports. I found the most fun activity that we did that involved exercising was learning boxing from MJKO, thanks to funding from ParticipAction. That was my first time trying out boxing. Even though there were just a few basic steps, it was a really good chance to experience this form of exercise. We learnt to put on a roll of bandage for each hand to protect our fists. And then, we put on the big, fat boxing gloves which made my hands feel very hot and sweaty. The coach and her two students were dedicated in teaching us each step. They corrected our errors all the time in order to help us learn better. I noticed that I became so tired after only a short while. What I learnt was that boxers really need to be very determined and dedicated in their everyday training because boxing requires a lot of strength and energy.

Another meaningful activity we did was going for Cycling Social with the youth of Central Commerce Collegiate's Cycling Club, thanks to funding from Playing for Keeps. We not only had fun at the picnic at Christie Pits Park, we also made some new friends and got to learn about the advantages about cycling. I was amazed to learn how much the youths from the Cycling Club love riding bikes! Before then, I already knew that riding bikes is a type of sport, which can help us stay healthy. However, through our interactions that day, I also learn that riding bikes can help us save money! It is way more affordable than driving those cars which use expensive gasoline. Riding bikes can also help reduce pollution since cars gives out so much emission. I found the session very meaningful because I also learnt that riding bikes is about making friends, joining groups, becoming a part of the group, and meeting more people. I learned all the benefits of riding bikes from that activity.

I would like to recommend the program to others, because everyone will learn a lot from all the different activities that we get to try out, through the Wintegration Program. What's more is that it really helps us to practise speaking English, while making new friends. Now that Wintegration 2012-2013 is over, I look forward to Wintegration 2013-2014, for more creative and fun activities!

Written by: Jessica Wang

Edited by: Lynda Young

Posted by: Jessica Wang

CCC Social at Christie Pits Park

On May 15, we went to Christie Pits Park and met with the members of Central Commerce Collegiate's Cycling Club for a picnic social, funded by Playing for Keeps. It was a very interesting day for me, because we got to make new friends, and spent time together.

"We got to make new friends and spend time together" ~Flyura

This session with CultureLink's Wintegration was outdoors! It was an interesting and informative time because we talked about staying healthy, healthy food, and also about different activities. 
Now, thanks to CultureLink, we got to know some new information about everything around us.I liked spending time with CultureLink, because the people who are in the CultureLink's Youth Services team very helpful and friendly. 

Written by: Flyura Zakirov
Editted by: Young

CCC Cycling Picnic Social

We went to Christie Pits Park for Cycling Social Picnic, funded by Playing for Keeps, on May,15. The park was extremely large. We chose an area beside a tree. That day was very windy, so it was pretty hard for us to put the plastic mat on the grass for sitting. We had to place our backpacks on the top of the mat to prevent it from flying away, which worked!

After that, we helped Lynda lay out the healthy food and snacks. There were some nuts, fresh hummus, wholewheat pita bread, juice and apples. They were pretty yummy and healthy. There was a Russian girl who had just arrived in Canada and I have never  met her before then, and she goes to different school.

Everyone was getting to know each other

After we chatted with one another for a few minutes, another group of youths came to join us. They were members of Central Commerce Collegiate’s Cycling Club! They all came to the park riding their own bicycles! “WELCOME!” We said, as they arrived.

All their bikes

They came to us and sat down beside me and the others. They were cool and looked professional with their cycling accessories such as helmets, which they wear for safety.

While we enjoyed the snacks, we also played a game with the whole group. We had to take a few minutes to get to know at least two persons that we haven’t known before. We needed to ask about their hobbies, ask about thing about themselves, such as what they have done before,just to get to know them better. Then, we got to introduce our new friend, saying three things about them. It was a successful game, as I got to meet some real nice people who were friendly  and funny! Every one had a wonderful conversation. I was glad that we got the opportunity to make more friends from other school,and even other countries. Everyone did well!

The most exciting thing that we did there was that we got to ride their bikes. I rode bicycles before, but it was long time ago. I have almost forgotten how to keep my balance! Actually,  I found that it wasn’t really that hard! I think that we just needed to get used to it. Then, we would know how to ride it! And I tried one for a minute, which made me feel cool! Everyone had fun!

Attempting to ride

The cycling club members also showed us how to give hand signals when cycling on the roads. Before then, I didn’t know that we have to raise our arm if we wanted to turn to other directions as we are riding bikes. That is a necessary safety practice that we have to know about riding bikes!

Thanks those cycling lovers for coming to teach us and let us ride their bikes! We all had lots of fun. I like riding bikes!

Written By: Jessica Wang

Edited By: Lynda Young

Posted By: Jessica Wang