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McLennan’s award was presented by Australian electropop singer-songwriter Boo Seeka.<\/p>\n
“This incredible human is going into schools and turning spare land into farms and veggie gardens, getting the kids involved in growing, then using that produce in the school community,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I just thought it was a brilliant, brilliant idea.”<\/p>\n
McLennan said there is a team of people behind him without whom the award, and most importantly the impact of the programs he offers, would not be possible.<\/p>\n
“I don’t do the work for recognition. I do it for the impact and the passion that I have for it,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It certainly is pretty humbling to get the recognition and also to put this really important work on a pedestal and be able to really amplify the small networks or small things that I’m doing across quite a global network.”<\/p>\n
Raised on a beef and lamb farm that also produced fruit and vegetables, it wasn’t until McLennan moved away to study at Latrobe University that he realised, for many, there was a disconnect between themselves and the food system.<\/p>\n
This realisation was further reinforced during his years as an educator, before he left the field to launch his own business and create community programs that inspire people to learn about the food cycle and increase access to local, seasonal, nutrient-dense food.<\/p>\n
Farm My School ambassador and television presenter Costa Georgiadis praised McLennan’s “fearless passion” for the entire food system.<\/p>\n
“He works with more than 5,000 Victorian school students a year. His unwavering dedication to transforming the way we think about food \u2013 especially when it comes to children’s health \u2013 goes deep and it motivates him every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A LOCAL environmental conservation educator has taken home the title of Food Entrepreneur of the Year at the inaugural Jamie Oliver Food Hero Awards. James McLennan, the co-founder of the acclaimed Farm My School pilot program at Bellarine Secondary College, was presented with the title and a “Golden Spoon” trophy at an event earlier this […]<\/p>\n