The BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation (BCAITC) has made Business in Vancouver’s list of top 10 educational charitable organizations in the province.
BCAITC was ranked seventh on a list that includes the Vancouver Aquarium, the Vancouver Art Gallery and Science World. The charities are ranked by expenditures in 2013, which puts BCAITC at $4.2 million.
“One thing I’m very proud of is that being on this list raises the profile of B.C.’s agriculture,” said Lindsay Babineau, executive director of BCAITC. “We’re the only organization on the list that is connected to agriculture, so it’s great for us to get the word ‘agriculture’ out there.”
Founded in 1982 on a volunteer basis, the Abbotsford-based BCAITC is now running numerous different programs that connect BC public schools to agriculture and healthy eating. The majority of the $4.2 million is for the largest program, the B.C. School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program (BCSFVNP), which delivers healthy fruit and vegetable snacks to 1,439 kindergarten to Grade 12 public and First Nations schools in B.C. The program not only encourages students to seek out healthy, B.C. product, but it also educates them on the producers who grow the fruits and vegetables. There are now 581 B.C. producers providing product to the program, which can range from peaches, plums and apples to kiwis, tomatoes and carrots.
For more information visit www.aitc.ca/bc.