Hundreds of students get a Bite of Brant

When students left Bite of Brant on Thursday with a slice of pizza, an Ontario apple and a carton of milk, most had a little more appreciation than when they arrived of how much work it took to put that lunch into their hands.

There was a time when almost everyone in and around Brantford and the County of Brant had some connection to agriculture. Today, many students are three or four generations removed from the farm.

Bite of Brant, now in its 27^th year, is meant to give young students – more than 1,000 local Grade 5s visited the event at the Burford Fairgrounds over two days – a little bit of education about the agri-food industry.

“It’s important they know where their food comes from,” said Chris Stuart, a third-generation farmer who helps run the family dairy operation north of Burford.

Stuart brought along a milking unit for the kids to give a try.

“I tell them we have 70 cows that each produce about 30 liters of milk a day,” he said. “They’re really surprised by that.”

About 125 volunteers plan, organize and present Bite of Brant, which, this year, included 20 stations where students could press apples into cider, study planting needs, compare input food costs, grind wheat to make flour, probe careers in the agri-food industry, climb on a tractor, and get a close-up look at live farm animals.

Alex McLellan, a fifth generation local dairy and cash crop farmer, brought stalks of winter wheat and talked to students about how it’s used to make pizza dough, letting them take a blob of the gooey mixture in their hands.

Joanne Boone, who helps tap about 50 trees in her Flamborough backyard, gave students a short lesson on the process of maple syrup making.

“These students are already consumers and our future decision makers – choosing careers and deciding policies that will, in turn, affect our livelihood,” said event organizer Jean Emmott. “Their heightened awareness of how vital agriculture is to the economy and society of Brant County will be reflected in consumer buying clothes today and in future generations.”

Eleven-year-old Holt Marcy said he was most impressed with a video showing a chick being hatched and learning how different grades of maple syrup are made.

“We need to know how much effort people put into it,” said Holt. “It’s not easy.”

Making her first visit to Bite of Brant on Thursday was Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

“I love the buzz,” she said as the ring of a cow bell sent students scurrying to their next station.

“It’s so important our agriculture industry offers this kind of unique education so that young people understand the amazing standards farms have to maintain to have a secure supply of food on Ontario shelves.”

Thompson credited Bite of Brant volunteers for “ensuring students are making connections with amazing careers” in agriculture.

“It can be a career path for life and something to be proud of.”