What's Happening in April

Spring is here, and so are new Burnaby Food First workshops! If nothing whets your appetite so far or if you're eager to learn more while waiting for our next workshop announcement, check out some of these cool workshops and events around the city.

Credit: Christina Mak

GardenSmart Workshops

Location: North Shore Neighbourhood House (225 East 2nd Street / North Vancouver - map)
Cost: $8.25

Learn how to grow your own food, support your local ecology, and reduce waste in your own backyard. GardenSmart Workshops are brought to you by the North Shorth Recycling Program, the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, and the Edible Garden Project.

Registration is required. To register or for more information, visit the workshop Evenbrite page here.

Upcoming Workshops

April 2: Small Space Gardening
April 5: Shiitake Log Cultivation
April 27: Supporting Your Soil Life

Homesteader's Emporium

Location: Homesteader's Emporium (649 East Hastings / Vancouver - map)
Cost: Starting from $7.50

Check out some of these workshops hosted by the Homesteader's Emporium! For times, details, and registration for individual workshops, visit their Workshops page: http://www.homesteadersemporium.ca/calendar/

Upcoming Workshops

April 3: Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, and More!
April 8: Backyard Chickens 101
April 10: Introduction to Honeybee Keeping

Renfrew-Collingwood Food Security Institute

Location: Various
Cost: Free

The Renfrew-Collingwood Food Security Institute strives to increase individual, family, and community capacity to overcome food insecurity. They facilitate learning, leadership, and networking around food sharing, organic growing, food sovereignty, and nutrition for local residents.

For winter and spring this year, they are hosting and offering activities at several locations around the neighbourhood, from community kitchens and a buying club to gardening workshops and seed swaps.

For more about this year's programming, visit their brochure here.

To find out more about the Institute, visit the website.

Seasons of Food Workshops

Location: Hastings Community Centre (3096 East Hastings Street / Vancouver - map)
Cost: From $15.00

Upcoming Workshops

April 4: Indian Cuisine
April 10: Are You Cultured? (Fermentation)
April 12: Native Edibles
April 25: Dairy Free Food
April 26: Seed Saving and Plant Breeding

For more information or to register, please email Seasons of Food.

Cedar Cottage Food Network

Location: Trout Lake Community Centre (3360 Victoria Drive / Vancouver - map)
Cost: From $15 to $40

The Cedar Cottage Food Network hosts cooking and food skills workshops at the Trout Lake Community Centre in East Vancouver that cover everything from grocery budgeting and meal planning to urban beekeeping and gardening.

Check out these cool workshops on this month!

April 10: Junior Cooks, 10 to 12 years (8-week course)
April 23: Learn to Pickle

Registration is required. For more details or to register, visit their Workshop page: http://cedarcottagefoodnetwork.wordpress.com/workshops/

UBC Farm Workshops

Location: UBC Farm (3461 Ross Drive / Vancouver - map)
Cost: From $24 to $45

The Growing Season Workshop Series aims to connect the local community with sustainability and life-skill experts through accessible and affordable workshops. The workshops are open to everyone, and the revenue generated from workshops supports both the presenters and continued workshop programming at the UBC Farm.

Some popular past workshops include cheese making, seed saving and plant breeding, food preservation by fermentation, and a traditional Maya cooking class.

Check out this month's workshops!

April 26: Shiitake Log Cultivation
April 29: Seasonal Wild Foraging

Registration is required. For more information or to register, visit the UBC Farm Workshop Eventbrite website here.

Richmond Food Security Society

Location: Garratt Wellness Centre (7504 Chelsea Place / Richmond - map)
Cost: From $10 to $60

This spring and summer, the Richmond Food Security Society is presenting a series of cooking and gardening workshops.

For more information or to register, visit the Richmond Food Security Society website here.

Upcoming Workshops

April 1, 8, & 15: Kitchen Skills & Cooking Program Series (3 sessions)
April 12: Building Healthy Soil

Vancouver Winter Farmers' Market

Location: Nat Bailey Stadium, East Parking Lot (4601 Ontario Street / Vancouver - map)
Dates: November 2, 2013 to April 26, 2014 (Closed December 28)
Hours: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm each Saturday

Thought the start of winter meant the end of locally grown and made goodies?

Continuing from last month, the winter market hosts over 60 vendors -- nearly as many as the three main Vancouver summer markets combined! -- offers a range of foods, from local produce to homemade chocolate and maple treats.

In an effort to reduce plastic use at the market, please bring your own shopping bags.

For more information on the market, including transportation and parking at the site, please visit their website: http://www.eatlocal.org/