Durham College’s (DC) first-ever crowdfunding initiative, Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community, is beginning to see financial support for the Centre for Food’s (CFF) landscaping needs come to fruition via funding from generous donors within the community.

Most notably, to date, 100 per cent of the funding required for the culinary herb garden has been achieved, thanks to generous donor Tina Bax, founder and president of CultureWorks, a private English-as-a-second-language (ESL) school located at post-secondary institutions such as Durham College, who pledged the full amount needed.

“Canadian colleges have the ability to be nimble. You see so many different programs cropping up, which is encouraging when you think about what it means for today’s young people,” said Bax. “All of these experiences help open their minds – at school! It’s great to have a chance to fund a creative, fresh facility like the CFF that combines both of my passions:  education and food. I hope to have a chance to participate in more of the CFF’s projects, and perhaps involve some of our international students or partners.”

In addition to the culinary herb garden reaching its fundraising goal, the fruit-bearing shrubs category is quickly gaining momentum, reaching 38 per cent of its goal, and the kitchen garden is up to 28 per cent.

Inspired by the college’s commitment to bring field to fork, the vision of bringing locally sourced, quality produce from field to table to Durham Region, Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community aims to garner support from the community for the completion of the landscaping and planting needed at the CFF. With 14 remaining projects to choose from, the campaign rolled out to alumni, donors, faculty, staff, students, community members and the general public in August.

The CFF was created in direct response to the demand of the local culinary, hospitality, tourism, agriculture and horticulture sectors. Supported by ambassador and celebrity chef Jamie Kennedy it opened to students in September 2013. Accommodating approximately 900 students studying in the college’s culinary, hospitality, event management, tourism, food science, agricultural and horticultural programs, it houses Bistro ’67, a teaching-inspired restaurant, and Pantry, a unique retail store that sells student-created fresh-baked items, meals-to-go, preserved foods and ready-to-cook meals prepared in house.

To make a donation or for more information on how the college is changing the way our local communities eat and grow food, please visit the Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community website.