At the Enactus Western Canada Regional Exposition in March, the Enactus UBC Okanagan team won the Regional Champion award in the Scotiabank EcoLiving Green challenge with a five-minute presentation on one of their two ongoing projects, Project Roots. They will continue on to the National exposition in this category to compete for the National title in Toronto, May 14 to 16.
After winning the Hellman’s Best Project Solution and Top Rookie team in Canada in 2017, in earning a 2018 National Exposition appearance the team presented for their second time at the Enactus Western Canada Regional Exposition on the metrics and impact of their two projects: Inventathon and Roots.
Inventathon is a 24-hour business incubator designed to empower youth at the UBC Okanagan campus and give students exposure to entrepreneurship. The Enactus UBC Okanagan team then works with the winners and utilizes sponsors from the community to support the students and allows for funds to implement the ideas.
Project Roots is a food-saving initiative that not only diverts secondary grade produce away from waste, but targets food insecure audiences. In partnership with Farm Bound, located in Vernon, the Enactus team at UBC Okanagan launched Project Roots only six months ago on the Okanagan campus, promoting healthier and more affordable dietary choices. Project Roots offers the “U-box” in mixed fruit and vegetables or a fruit-only option, containing 12 to 30 pounds of secondary grade produce, 40 to 60 per cent below retail price. Project Roots also helps support local farmers as all revenue is put back into the community as a new revenue stream for farmers.
