Community Programs
LunchLAB school meals pilot
LunchLAB school meals pilot
LunchLAB school meals pilot
Every student should have access to a delicious, local, healthy lunch – a lunch that nourishes the body, mind, and planet. TJ Conwi was the co-founder of LunchLAB, a fun, pilot program from Growing Chefs, Fresh Roots and Ono Vancouver that serves school meals prepared by students chefs, taught by a chef-in-residence.
Fighting food insecurity
LunchLAB school meals pilot
LunchLAB school meals pilot
Every week, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ono Vancouver team cooks meals from surplus food to donate to local nonprofits: YWCA Crabtree Corner, Directions Youth Services, Aboriginal Mother Centre, Kilala Lelum, Health Initiative for Men, and Tamura House. Over 400,000 meals so far!
Watch Ono in Action
"The Interceptors”
35 mins | TELUS originals | Director: Ben Cox | Producer: Mike Johnston
"The Interceptors" documents a diverse group of inspiring individuals, who are rising up to support food security in British Columbia. The first of its kind in Canada, these volunteers are using groundbreaking technology to reduce the barriers to food rescue.
Getting an edible education: LunchLAB teaches students how to cook
7 mins | CBC Creator Network | Ben Cox, director & cinematographer
With no federally mandated school food program in Canada, a new group of activists, parents and local chefs are on a mission to provide the students of Vancouver’s Lord Roberts Elementary with a hands-on and holistic food-based education.
Chefs preparing meals for families in need during pandemic
LunchLAB shows kids how to grow and prepare food. When in-class instruction was suspended, the partners — Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society, Growing Chefs!, Vancouver school board, and Ono Vancouver chef TJ Conwi — quickly pivoted to provide more than 5,500 meals a week to hundreds of families.