With colder weather on its way and a bounty of local foods, harvest is the perfect time to teach the next generation about food literacy. What’s food literacy? When we deconstruct the term, it’s simply knowing how to find local food, make healthy food choices, and learning how to cook.

The Six by Sixteen mandate is to arm youth with the tools they need to make smart, healthy food choices. The website – SixbySixteen.me – was developed as an online gateway to an extensive library of Canadian resources including how-to cooking videos, food literacy activities, recipes and where to source local Ontario-grown products.

Last year, in partnership with Growing Chefs Ontario, Six by Sixteen launched a virtual food literacy challenge. It features eight dietitian-developed recipe videos, an introduction to knife safety and a safe food handling tutorial.

To further promote the importance of local food, Six by Sixteen in partnership with Always in Season and SCOR Region developed the Agriculture is Always in Season colouring book. Youth can print the resource directly from the website and get creative while celebrating the abundance of healthy food produced by local farmers.

We encourage all families to get their youth involved in the kitchen by taking our food literacy challenge. It is a fun and family-oriented way to teach the next generation lifelong skills and promote Ontario’s agri-food sector in the process. Get started today at sixbysixteen.me.