Nearly 1,000 Grade 5 students and teachers from various public, catholic and private schools across the City of Brantford and the County of Brant, made their way to the Burford Fairgrounds for the 31st annual Bite of Brant event on Tuesday, April 14 and Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
The educational program, which won an Excellence in Agriculture Award in November of 2024, is designed to teach students about the local agriculture sector, and instill in them an appreciation for high-quality Ontario grown food.
Spread across two buildings, farmers and educators alike were set up at 20 different stations, each of which represented the various commodities of the County’s agri-food industry. Classes were split up into two groups and the students rotated between ten stations every 12 minutes, asking questions and getting hands-on experience along the way.
Throughout the event, the youngsters got to learn about the early history of agriculture, bees, how apples are pressed into cider, soil health, what the inside of a chicken egg looks like, the maple syrup process, and various farming equipment and careers.
With an overall pizza theme to the day, the students gained an understanding of how even something like fast-food starts in the farmer’s fields. Many got hands-on experience in milking procedures with a life-size cow model, grinding wheat into flour and planting their own basil and tomato seeds.
Several viewing areas also had the youth fascinated with the goats, sheep, chickens, piglets and cows that were on site. Many of them enthusiastically asked questions as they learned about the care that goes into raising livestock and the processing that follows.
Scarlett Andrew, 10, said her personal favourite station so far was the one with the goats.
When asked what she learned about the hooved farm animals, Andrew admitted she was a little distracted.
“To be honest, I just spent the whole time petting them,” she said, with a chuckle.
Despite getting momentarily sidetracked, Andrew expressed that she was enjoying the overall experience.
“I think it’s really cool, I’m excited to learn about cow milking,” she said.
Jean Emmott, a dairy farmer, retired educator and chair of the planning committee, said given the students are at an age where they’re becoming more aware of the world around them, Bite of Brant offers them a new perspective on the role of food and agri-business in their everyday lives.
“In Grade 5, they’re at an age where they’re starting to prepare some of their own meals and they’re accompanying their families to the grocery store, so they can start looking for locally produced food. With agriculture being the number one industry in Brant County, if people are choosing locally produced food, that just helps the whole cycle,” she said. “Not only that but they’re also starting to learn and think about careers and what they want to do after school. Agriculture isn’t just farming, there’s sales and advertising, and all sorts of important technology they can get into too.”
“On top of all of that, what they’re learning here today fits into their curriculum at school,” continued Emmott. “It really covers everything from technology to math, science, language and history.”
Nick Corrigan, a Grade 5 teacher from Edith Monture Elementary School, has been to Bite of Brant eight times now and said that from a teacher’s perspective, there are many benefits to the program.
“A lot of these students come from Brantford where there are no farms; there are many nearby, but a lot of these kids don’t venture into Brant County or the surrounding area,” he said. “I think getting to see the livestock, where things are grown, and letting them get their hands dirty and touch all the wheat and the corn, is really great for them and keeps them engaged. I also tend to save my healthy eating unit for around this time of year because we’re talking about whole foods and where to get things in the grocery store, so it’s great for the kids to see all this in person and connect what they’re eating to where it’s produced.”
Corrigan added that the event also teaches the students that the agri-food sector is more broad than they realize.
“A lot of kids think that all farmers produce the same thing, or that there’s one type of chicken or one type of pig,” he said. “But when they’re here, they get to see that farmers actually specialize in certain areas like livestock or crops, and that there are a variety of chickens and other livestock too. It’s a great experience for them.”
Noting that roughly 125 volunteers help put on the event every year, some of whom have been involved since the beginning, Emmott said she’s thankful for them taking time out of their busy schedules.
“They make the program happen, they really do,” she said. “You know, I really enjoy getting to see the excitement in the kids and the teachers, but I think one of my favourite parts of the day is sitting down for lunch with all the volunteers from the agri-food sector and getting to enjoy that camaraderie.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
