Know Your Food trailer opens window on local produce

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 25, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke Kiah Lucero with Agriculture for Life, at right, plays games with visitors to the Know Your Food Trailer during Whoop-Up Days Wednesday at Exhibition Park.

Agriculture for Life’s Know Your Food educational mobile unit is teaching attendants at Whoop-Up Days all about their food and where it comes from.

The new mobile unit at the grounds gives guided tours with fun interactive games helping teach about the agriculture industry and environment with safety and nutrition tips for all.

“This is our brand new Know Your Food initiative. This trailer recently debuted in July, giving an overview of Alberta, and Canadian, agriculture. We’re educating people on where their food comes from and trying to dispel the myths, by teaching people about the commodities that come out of Alberta’s agriculture industry. Explaining why you should feel trusted in Canadian farmers, and why you should feel comfortable about where your food comes from,” said Evan Jamieson, summer student-Youth Program Coordinator for Ag for Life.

The trailer displays information to guests with facts on how the industry works, helping foster a better understanding of the importance the agriculture industry plays in our lives. “Our information is divided into four different walls: production, markets, innovation, and tech,” said Jamieson. “We have our production wall which shows stats on Alberta farms and farmers. We’re showing that animals are in the best possible care, because a lot of times there’s myths about how animals are treated. We’re just trying to show how that’s not necessarily accurate with the five freedoms for animal care and codes of practice.”

The trailer looks to have guests learn in a fun way that fosters learning through example and play.

“We did our best to make this a really interactive trailer. Right here we’re showing the value-chain of where food can come from. We have barley and we have a picture of it growing in the field, then we have to guess where it goes and if you get it right you move along the chain and learn what that turns into down the production line and what it becomes,” said Jamieson. “Over on another wall we have an interactive game for food waste and people playing it learn how large of a percentage of food is wasted.”

With lots of information and fun resources to play and learn the ultimate goal isn’t to cram as much in, instead helping explore more levels of learning.

“There’s a lot of information in this trailer, there’s something for everyone. We can’t expect everyone to take everything out of this, I can’t even take everything out of this, but our real goal is that a person can learn one new thing. Or even if a person feels more comfortable with where their food comes from. That’s a win in my books. As long as we’re educating people, that’s what matters,” said Jamieson.

The 34′ trailer will be open on the Whoop Up grounds daily from 1-11 p.m.

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