Food is part of all our lives. Our relationship to food is wonderful and complicated and ever present and the need for it is universally experienced by human and creature alike. But the growing number of people facing food insecurity is alarming, and the different considerations and circumstances community members must navigate is so nuanced that it’s worth, in my opinion, more conversation and thoughtfulness as a community.
I’m excited to write monthly in yourthunderbay.ca and explore food security through a community lens. I’ll draw from personal experiences, trends that we see at Roots Community Food Centre, the organization I am currently the executive director for, and I’ll make connections to current research and data nationally that help to put some of what we see locally, into context. And – I’m not an expert. I don’t study this, I don’t come from a lived experience of food insecurity, and I work in a narrow field in a small community, so my perspective if reflective of that. My job though, brings me into contact with many organizations, farmers, individuals, communities and networks that have given me some insight into some of the issues that persist, and how complicated they can be for people to try to navigate them in a world that is driving more and more people to experiencing food insecurity.
I’ll share stories that are hopeful, worrisome, wonderful, and thoughtful. Monthly, I’ll look at different elements of local approaches to food insecurity not just from what is working but also from what is hard because unfortunately, despite so much incredible work that is happening, food insecurity rates in Canada are on the rise.
My true hope is that these articles will give you food for thought (pun totally intended!). If we can be, as a community, more informed and thoughtful about each other’s experiences, I believe we can move towards understanding and compassion that could even lead us to innovative solutions. I know that I am at my most creative when I am inspired by new thinking that drives me to consider solutions from new perspectives and maybe this will be true for you too. (If not, not to worry, there will be plenty of other articles to read in yourthunderbay.ca so you can skip this one and find something more up your alley).
To start us off this month, I’ll ask you this one (two-part) question:
What does food mean to you and how did it come about that this is what food means to you? If you know what your own relationship to food is, you can at least begin to acknowledge that this is what shapes your perspective about food and community more broadly. And knowing this, you can, hopefully, leave room for new perspectives and experiences to inform your relationship to food going forward. Like I said, I’m not an expert, but I am fully invested in gaining a broader and more informed perspective of food and community and I’m excited to explore this with you in yourthunderbay.ca
