Agriculture for Life (Ag for Life) launched the Know Your Food mobile education trailer with the aim of educating and celebrating Alberta’s vibrant agriculture industry.
They want to provide more insight into the farm-to-table aspect of the food we eat.
“Our goal is that visitors leave the unit with more knowledge, interest, and confidence in Alberta agriculture than what they first came in with,” said Luree Williamson, Ag for Life CEO.
Ag for Life envisions a province where all Albertans understand and appreciate the agriculture industry and its impact on their lives.
“A lot of people are two or three generations removed from the farm. We’re blessed to go to the grocery store and… have access to high quality affordable food,” said Williamson.
“So we don’t often have to sit back about ‘Where does my food come from.’ But this gives us an opportunity to think about the vibrancy of agriculture in this province, to the overall wellbeing of our province.”
By telling that gate to plate story, the 36 ft. mobile education trailer offers a blend of tactile, digital, and conversational styles of learning. This makes it suited for learners of all ages.
The topics of focus include technology, production, innovation, global markets, food waste and careers.
“This is all everyone’s brains together,” said Stephanie Koshka, Ag for Life staff member travelling with the trailer.
The Ag for Life team, with their varying backgrounds, provided balanced and varying perspectives for the content input, said Koshka.
The Know Your Food Route
Williamson said, the Know Your Food trailer will attend fairs and festivals solely throughout Alberta.
The trailer has a dedicated staff that travels wherever it goes, and will be making its first stop at Edmonton’s K-Days from July 22 to 31 then to Lethbridge for Whoop-up Days from August 23 to 27.
With curriculum-linked programming and resources, the trailer intends to reach students, especially junior and senior high schools during the academic year.
“We believe the key to fully building trust between the agriculture industry and consumers is to educate the future generations on what makes agriculture such an important piece of our livelihoods,” said Williamson.
Know Your Food Expansion
Over the coming years, the Know Your Food trailer will travel to the different communities within the province.
They’ll go to schools but also festivals, fairs, community events and other large gatherings.
Williamson said, with the digital elements such as games and videos it offers, the technology will only continue to expand.
“We’re looking at VR elements and just different ways that we can now engage Albertans in agriculture,” said the Ag for Life CEO.
About Ag for Life
Since 2011, Ag for Life has taken a leading a roll in the promotion of agriculture, food and safety education. Through partnership and collaboration, it has delivered agriculture education to over half a million people across the province.
To learn more about the Know Your Food trailer and their future events, you can visit the Know Your Food website.
