Going the Distance for Healthy School Food: 200 Laps for $200 Million
Brent Mansfield
On Friday, October 27 I will be running 200 laps (~90km) around my school, with students joining me during school hours, to ask the Government of Canada to honour their commitment to give $200 million per year (for 5 years) to develop a national school food program. 200 laps? 90km? Poetic, sure, but a little wild? That’s the point… it’s my attempt at a publicity stunt for the public good.
The run and whole campaign is aligned with and part of the advocacy work of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, which includes 260+ members and 120+ endorsers in all provinces and territories. I had the opportunity to be part of the founding meetings of the Coalition in Halifax in 2014. I was involved in the formation of the BC Chapter of Coalition, which I have been on the Steering Committee of since it started 5 years ago.
In the lead-up to the run my students will be involved in writing letters, making signs and costumes, and creating short videos to join the campaign for a national school food program. Students have also been providing ideas and inspiration for a social media campaign to ask influential Canadians (including Vancouver-born actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist Ryan Reynolds) to speak out for school food in Canada. For those that follow along on social media, please be prepared for a few random spoof videos to try to see if we can get Ryan Reynolds’ attention, and build some excitement along the way. I know my students are excited!
If you haven’t watched the 7-minute film on LunchLAB produced for CBC Vancouver yet I encourage you to do so. I hope it can create an imagination for what school food programs could look like if there was significant public investment and school communities formed diverse partnerships at the community level to make school food programs develop and thrive. School food programs will look different in every community because every community is different. School food matters everywhere. Students matter everywhere, which is why we need a national program. As of the beginning of 2023 we now have designated funding for school food programs in BC. The new premier of Manitoba has committed to take action to create a program in his first 100 days in office. We need the Government of Canada to honour their commitment to create a national school food program. I have hope that if enough people know the opportunity we have in Canada RIGHT NOW to create one they would take action to speak out for school food.
How You Can Support
You can support by sharing news about the run through your networks through email and social media, speaking out about the need for school food programs in your networks, and, for those who would like, we’re welcoming pledges to help LunchLAB grow to other schools.
Please share this email, and for those on social media, I’ve created public accounts so you can follow along and help share broadly:
Instagram: runningforschoolfood
Facebook page: Going the Distance for Healthy School Food
TikTok (for my students and the younger crowd): Carrot Guy 101
Pledges
This event is focused on getting public investment in school food programs, but I have had several people ask if they can make a pledge. LunchLAB is starting in an additional school next month. Growing Chefs and the LunchLAB team have a vision to grow to many more schools in the years ahead. Any pledges will go toward growing the work of LunchLAB expand, and can be made by clicking on the Donate button at https://www.growingchefs.ca/lunchlab.
In Honour Of
And for those that are still reading, I want to acknowledge that this whole wild campaign is in honour of two amazing men that shaped me to be the man I am, and have inspired me to go for it in this campaign and in life. Firstly, my own dad, Barry Mansfield - caring father, out-of-the-box teacher, someone who loved to cook and share food, runner and athlete. Secondly, Wayne Roberts - prominent Canadian food policy activist, someone I am so grateful to have had as a mentor and friend, and definitely not one to be afraid to use his wit and sense of humour to shake up a situation. Both of them passed away within two days of each other in January of 2021, and I miss them. I’m excited to honour their legacy in the weeks ahead.
Thank you all for your support - of me over many years, and for this latest campaign.
Sincerely,
Brent