Challenging youth leaders to create sustainable solutions
We’ve partnered with Syngenta Canada to challenge youth leaders create sustainable solutions and think critically about sustainable agriculture and food security at the community level. 4-H’ers have what it takes to innovatively solve some of the biggest challenges facing our planet. This challenge is one way to make a difference, and you could win up to $1000 in cash prizes for your club!
2025 Winner Profiles
From May to September 2025, the Sault Ste. Marie 4-H Club grew fresh fruits and vegetables at the Common Ground at Emmanuel Community Garden in Sault Ste. Marie and donated the harvest to SOYA (Save Our Young Adults), a grassroots non-profit supporting youth and young adults experiencing housing and food insecurity.
4-H members planned the gardens, planted seeds and seedlings, and took turns throughout the summer weeding, watering, and harvesting. The project provided hands-on learning about gardening, local food systems, and food insecurity, while helping increase access to fresh produce for more than 500 individuals served weekly by SOYA.
With support from Clean North, Sault Ste. Marie Firehall #3, and Emmanuel United Church, this initiative is a powerful example of youth leadership making a meaningful impact in the community.
Bee Hotel
The Balmoral 4-H Club hosted a special pollinator-focused project following a club meeting featuring a local beekeeper. Members learned how bees pollinate, produce honey, reproduce, the threats facing bee colonies, and why pollinators are essential to our food system. Interactive worksheets helped reinforce their learning.
To put their knowledge into action, 35 members built their own “bee hotels” and received a Proud to Bee a 4-H’er seed packet. Together, these items became a “Save the Pollinators” gift package to share with a family member at Christmas.
Through this initiative, members gained a deeper understanding of the challenges facing bees and other pollinators, explored ways to help protect them, and learned how pollinator health directly impacts agriculture and our food supply.
Potato Gleaning with Meaning
The Kensington 4-H Club in Prince Edward Island launched Potato Gleaning with Meaning after members identified a simple but impactful way to reduce food waste during their club planning meeting.
Partnering with local farmer Andrew MacMurdo and his wife Marilyn, members were invited to glean leftover potatoes from a seed potato field after harvesting. Following strict sanitation protocols to protect the crop, 13 members, four leaders, and family volunteers carefully collected potatoes before they could be damaged or wasted.
The freshly gathered potatoes were immediately bagged and donated to the Kensington Food Bank, helping support local families while reducing on-farm food waste.
Inspired by their desire to make a meaningful difference, members combined sustainable agriculture, community partnership, and food security into one hands-on initiative—ensuring healthy food reached tables in their community instead of going to waste.
What is the AgriFood Challenge?
The AgriFood Challenge is a Canada-wide initiative challenging 4-H members to consider how you can take action in support of sustainable agriculture and food security in your community.
4-H’ers have what it takes to innovatively solve some of the biggest challenges facing our planet. This challenge is one way to make a difference!
With your club and individually, you’ve explored sustainable agriculture and food security through the Proud To Bee A 4-H’er, Dig Into Soil, and Food For Thought outreach kits and activity books.
In this challenge, you, your fellow 4-H’ers, and your club can put that learning into practice. You choose the most meaningful way to take action to support sustainable agriculture and food security in your community. This is your chance to live your 4-H Pledge by combining knowledge, hard work, and service.
There are 15 cash prizes of $500/each available to be won by Challenge participants.
- Cash prizes will be awarded to the club of the winning member(s).
- No club will be eligible to win more than $1,000 in total cash prizes.
- Both the club and the members who completed the winning challenge must be deemed ‘in good standing’ by their provincial association.
- Winners will be determined though a review process based on the information provided in the online challenge report including information such as: reason initiative was chosen, involvement of 4-H member(s), community impact, sharing of photos, and reflection of learnings.
The AgriFood Challenge Is Supported By:
Syngenta Canada