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photo credits: Dana VanVeller
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Fresh Roots is Hiring!

Good Food for all, that’s what we say,
students, neighbours, elders – eat away!
This summer our team is looking to grow,
So check it out and let us know!

We’re excited to open Fresh Roots’ summer employment options!  We have a number of summer positions that are open to students (ages 15 – 30).  We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

In addition, Fresh Roots partners with the UBC Intergenerational Landed Learning Project to offer SOYL, a program that empowers youth to cultivate their personal power, build resilient communities, and make Good Food accessible to all – all while learning employment skills and financial literacy. During the summer, SOYL youth build and manage food-producing gardens at four secondary schools and participate in service learning with innovative food systems organizations.
We’re always looking to engage with new friends and allies in this work. If you have an idea, a dream, or want to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. Come stop by at our Good Food Markets and chat with us!
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Fermenting Fun

A couple of weekends ago, the SOYL family reunited for a Sauerkraut making workshop.

The workshop was hosted by Andrea of Rooted Nutrition. Andrea taught us about the process of fermentation and we got to make our very own sauerkraut!

Just for some context, Rooted Nutrition’s philosophy is: “Empowering people through education and by offering practical tools to come into their kitchens to prepare healthy and delicious foods with love.”

Here’s how we made our sauerkraut:

(Basically, all you need is cabbage and salt, it’s that simple!)

  • Chop up the cabbage
  • We added chopped apples and carrots for sweetness
  • AND we added beets + beet greens for colour
  • We put layers of cabbage and salt in mason jarsThe salt keeps out bad bacteria and helps the liquid come out of the plant cells for juiciness
  • We pounded the cabbage until we got out all the liquids
  • Put a jar weight on top of sauerkraut so that liquid level would come up (refer to andrea pic)
  • Bubbles start to form at the top
  • And that’s it! Now..
  • Wait 3 weeks for it to ferment fully
  • Then you can eat it!
  • Sauerkraut lasts for months, just be sure to put your jar in the fridge once you’ve open the jar, so that it lasts longer and doesn’t become too sour

Check out our sauerkraut journey…

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Reasons We Love SOYL

Applications for SOYL Youth Interns is now open: soyl internship 2015

APPLY NOW

In lieu of SOYL Summer 2015 applications being open, we thought it could be helpful to give some personal insight into what the SOYL program actually means to our youth participants.

We asked SOYL intern graduates to reflect on the reasons they love SOYL so that we can share them with anyone who is considering our SOYL program.

Here’s what our youth have to say…

My favourite experience with SOYL was… harvesting vegetables. I felt a sense of achievement in growing these vegetables with my crew members. – Michelle (2014 intern)

My favourite experience with SOYL was… harvesting vegetables. I felt a sense of achievement in growing these vegetables with my crew members. – Michelle (2014 intern)

I love SOYL because… we visited different places on Community Day such as Hastings Urban Farm & Discovery Organics. – Rico (2014 intern)

I love SOYL because… we visited different places on Community Day such as Hastings Urban Farm & Discovery Organics. – Rico (2014 intern)

liked to learn about gardening with my friends, I also liked to prepare the salads and then to bring them to SOYL and share with my friends. I also loved to be able to teach about the oyster mushrooms to the little kids. But in reality I liked everything that I did in SOYL. – Veronica (2014 intern)

liked to learn about gardening with my friends, I also liked to prepare the salads and then to bring them to SOYL and share with my friends. I also loved to be able to teach about the oyster mushrooms to the little kids. But in reality I liked everything that I did in SOYL. – Veronica (2014 intern)

I love SOYL for what it did for me. SOYL was a fun group responsibility that taught me many things I never knew about agriculture through a healthy experience in the sun. It gave me an opportunity to meet others and the community and a different way to think of the environment. It also gave me a lot of fresh vegetables, which was awesome. – Sebastian (2014 intern)

I love SOYL for what it did for me. SOYL was a fun group responsibility that taught me many things I never knew about agriculture through a healthy experience in the sun. It gave me an opportunity to meet others and the community and a different way to think of the environment. It also gave me a lot of fresh vegetables, which was awesome. – Sebastian (2014 intern)

I love SOYL because of the people. Everyone was always so kind and I made many wonderful friends. – Iris (2014 intern)

I love SOYL because of the people. Everyone was always so kind and I made many wonderful friends. – Iris (2014 intern)