Dep-Explo Jeune COOP
École secondaire Vanier

Five years ago, six students at Vanier high school found a way of encouraging the entire student body to adopt healthy eating habits. Tired of not being able to buy nutritious food at their own school, they came up with the bold idea of opening a health food shop on school premises and it turned out to be an instant success. The Dep-explo Jeune COOP is the recipient of numerous awards and is now recognized throughout the province, in large part thanks to the creation of a start-up kit that is available to all educational institutions wishing to launch their own Dep-explo venture.

“More often than not, the cooperative projects set up at schools sell school supplies. With Dep-explo, we were one of the first schools in Québec to establish a health-oriented project for teenagers. What’s more, the project has taken on surprising proportions,” recounts Nathalie Ringuette, a teacher who helped launch the project and the co-author of the start-up kit.

It must be said that ever since 2006 when Dep-explo received an award at the Québec entrepreneurship contest, a large number of schools have shown an interest in the project. As there were no guides to implementing this type of project on the market, Nathalie Ringuette and colleague Sophie Turgeon spent two years writing the famous start-up kit. Published in 2009, the guide is over 200 pages long and sold 25 copies in less than six months. “Every week, the project draws the attention of more and more schools, dieticians and school officials. There is even a delegation of representatives from the field of education in France who have shown an interest,” Mrs. Ringuette points out.

Apart from the fact that the project meets the need for a healthy diet among teenagers, the Dep-explo has led to a wide range of positive repercussions for young people and the school and this is probably why it’s so popular. Among other things, the students involved are more motivated in their studies, it helps everyone who works in the store develop their inner strengths and self-esteem, and more importantly, its offers sound professional training.

Secondary 3 student Alexandra Leblond has been involved with Dep-explo ever since she arrived at Vanier high school and is unequivocal about the benefits she has gained from the experience. Starting out as a cashier, this year she holds the position of human resource manager and has had to take on many more responsibilities including staff scheduling, recruiting new employees and of course labour relations, which is not always easy.

“I used to be shy but the project has enabled me to gain self-confidence and develop my leadership skills. I have also become a lot more open to others. Our school is multiethnic and the project has helped bring people closer together. I’ve had the chance to meet new people and it’s been a very enriching experience,” she asserts.

The Dep-explo is a focal point for many people. In addition to the five students on the cooperative’s board of directors, there are fifty others who sit on the four management committees (food production, promotion, financial resources and human resources). And then of course there are the hundreds of clients who stop by the Dep-explo shop every week.

“I can certify that the project has truly helped dispel the myth that students and the educational milieu lack dynamism and willpower. The Dep-explo has created a strong feeling of belonging at our school and is also a source of pride,” says Nathalie Ringuette.

In recent years, many specialists have been advocating the importance of enabling students to take part in meaningful pedagogical projects in which they can play an active and responsible role. The Dep-explo Jeune COOP gives credibility to their theory.

“The project is a source of pride for everyone at our school. The students are motivated, they each do their share; they also develop new talents and learn new things. It’s simply amazing to see how much energy the students put into the project,” states member of the school staff Luciano Desrosiers.

Dep-Explo Jeune COOP
École secondaire Vanier