Who are we?
Hello and welcome to Food Flow Collective! We are an environmentally focused camp for middle school students (ages 13-15), and we aim to educate students on how they can reduce food waste and become more aware of the food systems around them.
We encourage you to join us and partake in some fun hands-on activities that teach helpful skills for the future!
Where are we located?
Food Flow Collective is based in Lake Ontario Hall on GVSU's Campus which gives students access to both the Ravines Trail System and the Sustainable Agriculture Project
A food system encompasses all the activities, processes, stakeholders, and infrastructure involved in feeding a given population. The processes are made up of production, distribution, consumption, and waste processing.
On Day One, students will be introduced to the camp, each other and the idea of food systems.
Students will:
Participate in get to know you games such as the Name Game, Two Truths and a Lie, and Four Corners
Learn the definition of a food system and think about how they may be a part of one
Participate in a Scavenger Hunt looking for different food related items throughout Lake Ontario Hall (LOH) and the Ravines Trails on GVSU's campus, with an emphasis on identifying edible plants
By the end of the day, students should be able to:
Interact comfortably with their peers and camp counselors
Explain the basic definition of food map
On Day Two, students will begin to connect their knowledge of food systems to their own experiences.
Students will:
Participate in a demonstration and discuss the three legs of sustainability - environment, society, and economics - and their relation to food systems
Build a food system map, starting with a food item they eat regularly and working outward
Take a field trip to GVSU's Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP) and identify how the SAP fits into a food system map
Students will be able to pick produce from the SAP and bring it back to LOH
Students will also be introduced to composting and how it is utilized at the SAP
By the end of the day, students should be able to:
Discuss the basic aspects of food systems
Connect the day's topics to their experience at the SAP and at home
On day three, students will use what they have learned the past few days and demonstrate it by making recipes.
Students will:
Use the food that they gathered at the SAP, as well as any edible food they will have has a chance to forage, to cook a small recipe
Students will use what they learned from the food maps and see how it is used when the food is being prepared
Students will take a field trip back to the SAP, taking their food scraps with them and putting them into the compost bin at the SAP
Students will learn about the composting process
By the end of the day, students should be able to:
Discuss how food goes from farm-to-table
Describe composting and see how it is used at the SAP
On Day 4, students will be able use their knowledge of compost and use it to restart the food system cycle by replanting.
Students will:
Discuss the previous day of how composting is such a vital part of the food system cycle
Activities will relate to how students can implement them into their own lives and habits
Students will go back to the SAP to gather compost
while learning what is best to make a rich and healthy soil for at home gardens
Students will make their own compostable garden to take home
Activity will show how the last step, composting, can revive the first step, planting the seeds, to make the cycle everlasting
By the end of the day students should be able to:
Discuss how compost is a vital step in the food system process
the impact of having a compost bin at school or future jobs
How to properly take care of an at home garden using compost
On day five, students will combine their knowledge of what they learned throughout the last couple of days and show what they have learned by starting their own composting process
Students will:
Be given their own compost bucket that they can take home and use
Be educated on composting services around Grand Rapids and learn about companies that do pick-up services
By the end of the week students should be able to:
Discuss food mapping and food systems
Know basic foraging skills
Know a simple recipe that they can make at home
Have knowledge of composting and be able to use it to decrease food waste
Accessibility
Food Flow Collective aims to be inclusive and accessible to everyone, and we do this through our transportation services and cost
Our transportation services provide a shuttle service where students can be picked up from designated locations
We will also have volunteers helping get bring students to and from the SAP on field trip days
We believe every student should have the opportunity to participate in a camp like ours, which is why we are committed to providing affordable prices and scholarship assistance
We have received grants through the Michigan STEM Partnership such as "Taking STEM Outside," which allow us to have camp admission on a sliding scale to accomodate for all financial situations
Camp Goals
Discuss the basic aspects of food systems
Connect the day's topics to their experience at the SAP and at home
Discuss how food goes from farm-to-table
Describe composting and see how it is used at the SAP
Know basic foraging skills
Discuss how compost is a vital step in the food system process
the impact of having a compost bin at school or future jobs
How to properly take care of an at home garden using compost
Know a simple recipe that they can make at home
Connection to the GVSU Strategic Plan
Inquiry: We will allow to students to problem solve and create through activities such as building a food map, cooking and creating recipes, and starting their own compost.
Innovation: We will empower students to work toward the common good by learning about and minimizing their own food waste.
International: We will show students where they are in the global food system and how they connect to their community and the planet.
Please contact us with any inquiries!