Cranberry time! With the holiday season upon us, BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation (BCAITC) is pleased to announce the launch of the Spotlight Series on Cranberries! This new educational tool teaches secondary British Columbia Culinary Arts and Food Studies students all about BC cranberries. The Spotlight Series on Cranberries is a multi-faceted virtual tool that includes the following resources:

• Educational Videos: In a 2-part video series, students will learn the art and science of cranberry farming in BC and what it takes to produce over 94 million pounds of cranberries in the province annually.
• Activity: A curriculum-linked trivia activity, Cranberry Conundrums, accompanies the videos about the cranberry story from farm to kitchen.
• Recipes: Culinary Arts students can experiment with tasty cranberry recipes developed by BCAITC’s Celebrity Chef Randle including BC Kale Caesar Salad with Craisins, Wild Rice & BC Cranberry Soup, Brussel Sprouts and Cranberry Slaw, and Belgian Endive and Cranberry Slaw with Honey.
• Grow BC: Students can explore Grow BC, an interactive GIS resource, to learn the story of cranberries. From where cranberries are grown, to how they are produced, to how they are used, this resource provides straightforward integration into class curriculum.

The Spotlight Series on Cranberries is made possible thanks to the generous donation of cranberries from the BC Cranberry Marketing Commission and Craisins from Ocean Spray Canada to BCAITC’s Take a Bite of BC program. The Take a Bite of BC program impacts 6,784 Culinary Arts students directly and influences an additional 65,000 students to eat local, BC grown and prepared dishes on a regular basis in their school cafeterias.

BCAITC’s Spotlight Series is a fun and easy way to get secondary students interested in BC’s amazing agriculture and food story. The online learning tool provides agriculture literacy education that is easily accessible online 24/7. Through the Spotlight Series, students can learn about growing BC foods and enjoy the benefits of eating fresh, healthy food - reinforcing the role of agriculture in their lives. The educational series allows students to make valuable connections between farming, food security, and healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. Future Spotlight Series will feature more BC commodities including eggs, apples, pork, duck, and blueberries.

“We are delighted to have the support of the BC Cranberry Marketing Commission and Ocean Spray Canada for this Spotlight Series on Cranberries. The virtual teaching tool can be used by teachers anytime, anywhere to educate students on healthy, fresh, BC grown food,” said Pat Tonn, Executive Director at BCAITC. “This is especially important during the current COVID-19 pandemic when flexibility is required in teaching techniques. We are very excited to see the series rolled out to Culinary Arts classrooms and available to Food studies classrooms province-wide,” Tonn continued.

We hope you enjoyed this Spotlight Series on Cranberries. Please share it on social media with the buttons located at the top of the page.