We are pleased to announce that we’ve been selected to present at UBC’s AUS Humanities and Social Sciences Conference. The theme of this inaugural event is “Think Bigger”, this conference is a place for undergraduate students to share their research with peers, professors and the community. It is an exciting opportunity to share our experiences as ethnographers, interns, and students as well as engage with the research of fellow presenters.
We will be focusing our presentation on the field school, Gordon Neighbourhood House and of course, food (in)security within the West End. If you’d like to hear our perspectives on economics and social security, be sure to register here, the event is free to attend for all.
Event details:
When: 12:15PM – 1:15PM January 18, 2014
Where: Buchanan Building B, 1866 Main Mall V6T 1Z1 Room: B215
We hope to see you there,
Your favourite food (in)security researchers
(Food, coffee, and snacks will be provided)
How did the food you eat get to your table? It may not be as simple as you might think.
In June of 2013, five UBC students partnered with Gordon Neighbourhood House to do some research on the topic of food security in the West End. Food security is one’s ability to access a sufficient amount of nutritious, inexpensive food. Everyone is interested in a healthy diet. Food security affects students, elders, street-entrenched people, parents, immigrants, and their neighbours too — food security affects everyone.
Our UBC research group wanted to examine what barriers to food security existed in the neighbourhood, and who these barriers affect, in hopes of spreading awareness and providing information for GNH. We interviewed community members, GNH staff, local service providers, experts in the field, panhandlers, and activists working hard on improving food security. The purpose of this blog is to share our findings with the broader community – one of the biggest barriers we encountered was simply a lack of awareness about the issue of food insecurity in the West End.
For more information on the topic of food security or the students involved in this project, check out the links at the top of the page. This work was done as part of the Immigrant Vancouver Ethnographic Field School, an intensive research program offered through the Departments of Anthropology and Sociology at UBC. For more information on the program and to see other groups’ research projects, visit http://ivefs.arts.ubc.ca. If you have any stories you’d like to share about your experience with food security in the West End, please leave a comment – we’d love to hear from you!
The UN rapporteur for the Right To Food, Olivier De Schutter, released his report highlighting food insecurity within Canada in 2012. He visited Canada from May 6th-16th in 2012, upon invitation from the Canadian government. He defines food insecurity quite simply as ‘not knowing if you’re going to eat tomorrow’. This report voices his strong criticism for the nation’s lack of acknowledging and combating food insecurity. De Schutter reports:
-7.7% of households experience moderate or severe food insecurity
-1.92 million Canadians, aged 12 and older, live in food insecure households
-1/10 families with atleast one child under the age of 5 are food insecure.
(Food Security, 2012, 4).
The most interesting aspect of this report was its shocking nature and reception by the Canadian government. Although he was invited to conduct research and produce a report, “Immigration Minister Jason Kenney called it a waste of UN money to investigate developed countries like Canada” (Whittington 2012). Kenney went on to argue this money would have been better used to help starving people in poor countries (Porter, 2013). As I discussed during our group presentation on Wednesd June 19th, this is the common belief of food insecurity domestically. This is an issue that is believed to plague only ‘third world nations’, and is not seen as an actual issue needing to be combated. This view is even more problematic for the West End, an area with the perception of extreme prestige and affluence. Food insecurity in this geographically bound portion of Vancouver is not considered a relevant barrier to its citizens.
This report was first brought to my attention during our meeting with Professor Graham Riches. He emphasized the accessibility of this UN report, but I was hesitant to believe that I could easily understand a report presented to the Human Rights Council. I am happy to say Professor Riches was absolutely right, this report is very accessible and can be read in one go, (its only about 20 pages). Be sure to check it out here if you’re interested in this issue.
-Amrit
Sources:
Food Security. 2006. FOA: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Policy Brief, Issue 2. 1-4. Web. Retrieved from: ftp://ftp.fao.org/es/ESA/policybriefs/pb_02.pdf.
Porter. 2013. Un Food Envoy Oliver De Schutter says Canada Starves many of its Citizens. The Star. Web. Retrieved from:
Whittington. 2012. UN Food Envoy Blasts Inequality, Poverty in Canada. The Star. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/03/04/un_food_envoy_olivier_de_schutter_says_canada_starves_many_of_its_citizens_porter.html
A late post, but last week our group visited a food bank. We were able to see first hand how the food bank operates and what sorts of people utilize the service, as well as see the types of food that an individual receives. Different locations service different people, and we visited a food bank that single individuals.
Several points to note are the line-ups, the people, and what’s given.
The line-ups were long, with an approximate hour-long wait during the short one hour time frame that it is opened. If this time frame is missed, there’s no chance to receive any food until the next week unless it is in the case of emergency relief, in which an individual can only use twice a year and must call the head office to arrange for a meeting. The distribution center was in a basement with a cafeteria-style set up; stations were set up and individuals walked to each one, picking up the different food items.
Those in line were not people that would be expected to utilize food banks. Hunger Count 2012, a national study on food banks, notes most food bank users are working individuals who simply struggle with finances, and this was obvious through a look at the people in line.
The items that were given were: 2 buns, 6 eggs, 3 apples, 4 potatoes, 3 onions, 1 no name brand beans, 1 can of Campbell’s cream of chicken, a package of Annie Chung’s rice express, TrueBlue 100% blueberry juice, and a bottle of sweet and sour sauce that came from an “extra” pile. Noticeably, they are mainly carbs and packaged foods. It appears that the food bank attempts at providing balanced and nutritious foods on a budget, but it is obviously lacking in nutrients.
This was an extremely enlightening experience for me being able to see first-hand what food insecure individuals receive, and must do to receive (long line-ups, tight schedules). I didn’t realize how much of a luxury it was to be given choice for foods.
-Christy
I’ve been writing quite a bit about the attributes and issues associated with food (in)security but have failed to provide a comprehensive definition of the term.
To paraphrase Rideout et al (2007), food security exists when there is an availability and access to nutritious and affordable food (p 566).
As I’ve been researching and exploring the angles I’d like to present on this issue for the final project, I’ve come across the proposed idea of obesity and food (in)security within ‘developed’ nations such as Canada. This is a correlation I had not previously considered because it does not comply with my preconceived notions of what being food insecure entails. Nor has this connection been articulated by individuals identifiying as food insecure or food poverty activists. I’ve come across blunt statements online arguing “food insecurity is…a cause of obesity”. Perhaps this vein of research purposes that it is not access that is a primary barrier to gaining food security, but calls into question the affordability and nutritious quality of the food that is available.
I wonder how the concept of food (in)security relates to obesity within a specific localized region such as the West End. Further researching this concept will provide us with a comprehensive understanding of the link between obesity and food security.
(We is referring to the authors of this blog: Amrit, Alice, Aaron, Avi and Christy).
-Amrit
Work Cited:
Rideout et al. (2007). Bringing home the right to food in Canada: challenges and possibilities for achieving food security. Public Health Nutrition, 10, pp 566-573. doi:10.1017/S1368980007246622.
Recently, the issue of viewership and participation has come up within our group. So far we have all promoted the Political Plate on our social media pages such as Facebook. However, we are still struggling on how to reach a more diverse group of people. The fact is that if we want to have an impact and help the West End, we must be able to at least have a dialogue with some of this neighbourhood’s residents via this blog. We have done a lot of work talking to people who can provide insight into how to help the community, but ultimately, our efforts are wasted if we cannot help inspire real-world change.
One new tactic which we have come up with is to incorporate blogs into the UBC Learning Exchange’s computer literacy courses. The organizers of the programs at this place of learning have allowed Avi and me (Alice) to teach a class on the concept and mechanics of internet blogs which will happen in Mid-July. I am very excited about this because I having been wanting to find a way of interacting with the UBC Learning Exchange in a deeper way ever since our class has started using this space. This organization has provided us with so many new experiences and resources, that I am glad to finally be giving back at least in this small way.
On another front, our group has come up with a few different posters to spread throughout Vancouver and particularly the West End. What do you think about this version of one of the Poster? Is it affective, clear, and inclusive of different potential users of the blog?
(Click Image to Enlarge)
Lastly, we were wondering whether anybody could provide us with any other suggestions on how to reach people in Vancouver and the West End.
-Alice
Last week I had the good fortune of being able to meet up with co-founder and director Jordan Bober, and Director Paola Qualizza from Seedstock, Vancouver’s newly emerging community currency. Originally I had invited them to talk to my entire field group placement of five people, but as circumstances changed, and the responsibilities of our fieldwork called on us from different directions, our group got separated leaving only myself to meet with these people whom I had passionately pursued a dialogue with. As I settled into a room at the UBC Learning Exchange with these two people whom I believed to be giants of community development, my nerves slowly, but steadily began to ease as our discussion about the economic and social mechanics of Seedstock began to flow.
Essentially how this specific community currency works is that the people from Seedstock allow a business to create an amount of currency (proportional to the amount of employees working for the business); then the business must distribute a portion of this currency to non-profit organizations while the rest finds it way to their employees in the form of bonuses or gifts. The 10-20% the business keeps can also be used for a float at point of sale, or by the business owner to start spending at other businesses. The cycle can then repeat as the currency eventually flows back to the participating local businesses. Individuals can also exchange their money for Seedstock at any point with non-profits. This is the main way Seedstock is seeded into the community. Non-profits who receive donations of Seedstock from businesses can trade it back to the public for Canadian Dollars as a form of fundraising, in which donors can actually receive currency for currency (they both give and receive in the same transaction).
From my understanding the essence of Seedstock is that, like the UBC Learning Exchange which was housing our discussion, it finds value in otherwise under-utilized resources and human potential. In the case of Seedstock, this includes the products that a local business would have a difficult time selling (or selling as much of) without the business’s acknowledgement of Seedstock as a form of tender. Another way Seedstock does this is by allowing for people to support other individuals’ skills or talents which otherwise may not be able to be marketed in a traditional business setting. Thus, both local businesses prosper though a new following of people, and individuals prosper by having others be able to acknowledge their skills or talents in this more profitable way.
(Image courtesy of Seedstock.ca)
This description inspired me to ask Paola and Jordan whether it was realistic to expect that at this point Seedstock could appeal to, or improve, the lives of low-income individuals who might see Canadian Government issued currency as a more reliable ticket to essential resources such as food. Jordan and Paola seemed to agree that this may be a current issue which could possibly be resolved as Seedstock becomes utilized by more local businesses.
Still unconvinced of the potential and relevance of Seedstock to people of low income I pressed Paola and Jordan further asking whether they really thought that the type of urban farms or gardens that Seedstock hopes to support would appeal to low-income individuals such as those on welfare. This question had been inspired by my recent experiences with Jennifer Allan (from Jen’s Kitchen) who had taken our group (Avi, Aaron, Amrit, Christy, and Myself) with her on a visit to a food bank which she can access. A combination of considering the restricting designated times food banks could be accessed, the firm policy about which food bank a person can access, no matter how far away it is, and seeing the long line-ups a person has to deal with to obtain the small amounts of food available inside, really got me thinking about how much energy and time a person with low income may have to put into something which people who do not have a low-income might not be familiar with, food banks.
The answer that I received from Paola, was one which showed me that up until that point I had still been trying to fit my ideas about Seedstock into my preconceived notions of how our Canadian government-issued currency fails its residents. Paola began by agreeing and further questioning how people could think that urban farms and gardens could help solve low-income individual’s needs to access healthy food. Then Paola asked: but why shouldn’t low income individuals (along with all those interested) be paid for their contributions to projects such as urban farms and gardens which may not unto themselves have the capacity to help prevent a lack of access to healthy food in the amounts and times that it is needed. Perhaps, if local businesses who create Seedstock currency in their communities help to sponsor such urban farms /gardens, then people who choose to work at these projects can be paid in Seedstock (in full or in part) which would have the value of being able to be used to buy food. In this way urban gardens and farms would be a more realistic meeting place of a diverse set of people from a neighbourhood. Such places would no longer be associated with only the agricultural and spacial empowerment of the wealthy, but would rather be a gathering places of any people who have a desire to get in touch with land and how food is grown.
As our conversation progressed I eventually became more comfortable as I began to feel a new dynamic building between myself, Paola and Jordan. My insecurities of taking on the role of lone-interviewer, became smaller and smaller as I came to realize perhaps the most profound benefit of Seedstock; this is, or rather they are Paola and Jordan (And all those that help them, but who I did not have the pleasure of meeting that day). As they were sitting before me talking about their various previous engagements and hopeful future interactions, I realized that most of my previous fears leading up this encounter had been also founded in having made a certain type of predictions about the dynamic between myself and Jordan and Paola. In contrast to the reality of our social engagement, this predicted dynamic was based off of assumptions I had made due to the way that I felt governmental and international bodies dealt with the politics and practices of creation, use and allocation of currency. The reality was that Jordan and Paola were not sitting high up in some ivory tower, but rather were in front of me, describing their passions, their struggles, their individuality and their hopes. So just as Seedstock, as a currency, has the potential to create a sense of community between users, businesses and non-profit organizations, Paola and Jordan, as the people proliferating the currency, are initiators of a sense of community as well.
Perhaps this is because of their dedication to continuous interaction and open-mindedness as well as the ways in which they inspire these same qualities in the people that they meet along the way. For example, in my case, our interaction inspired me to put them in touch with various other organizations in Vancouver whom I had the pleasure of interacting with. I also hope to help put on an art exhibition that would feature artists who accept Seedstock as payment, and in an art gallery who is also able to acknowledge Seedstock in some form. In the case of my sister who was the first to tell me about Seedstock, she has already collaborated with them by blogging and designing some of their gift certificate layouts. She has also put her creative interests to use by creating a few short films about Seedstock and initiated a “Busk-a-thon” event for Seedstock both of which bring together a wider group of people with similar interests.
Thus, perhaps this interactive and inspirational effect is one of the strongest tool which Seedstock has to help build stronger communities in Vancouver. Or at least this is something which I have been inspired to also contribute towards, even in the smallest ways such as in reminding friends when they mistake its name for “Seedsprouts” that the name is actually “Seedstock”, and that they should remember it because it will likely by around for a long time. But just as it is the small business which are a part of the heart of Seedstock’s functioning, so too I have learned that it can be the small every-day initiatives which help its growth.
-Alice
For More Information on Seedstock Visit: Seedstock.ca
One of the most valuable learning experiences our group has had was learning about the unique barriers faced by those of us in the community experiencing homelessness. In talking with several panhandlers in the West End, we heard about all the unique barriers that those who are homeless face. I also learned a lot from my interview with Judy Graves, a homelessness advocate known for her nighttime walks to talk to homeless people in the city.
Firstly, the importance of access to healthy food for homeless people should be stressed. Many are homeless in part because of a disability or mental illness. For many diseases, such as epilepsy, not eating exacerbates the problems associated with the condition. Furthermore, most medication require a healthy diet in order to be effective. As such, providing food to those who are most vulnerable especially should be a priority, as hunger amplifies the problems they face. Judy referenced data which showed that instances of aggressive behaviour from panhandlers actually increased noticeably when a daily meal service was shut down. A study from the Downtown Business Improvement Associated further demonstrated that such aggressive behaviour decreased in a span of just two days when a shelter, providing food to its residents, was opened in a particular area. The mere fact that panhandlers had sufficient food, and thus could stabilize their blood sugar, meant that conditions improved.
So, what barriers, then, affect in particular those who are homeless?
No Kitchen: The most obvious barrier is that an individual who is homeless has no access to a kitchen. They cannot preparea healthy, inexpensive meal even if they wanted to. This means that, ironically, the people who are poorest must rely on restaurants and pre-made food, as opposed to cheap groceries one can prepare at home. This is one of the reasons why those who are homeless must rely on unhealthy fast food hamburgers. When our group went to give care packages to the panhandlers we met in the West End, several of them had to refuse the food in the packages, because we had inadvertently included microwaveable rice in the packages. Of course, access to a microwave was unlikely.
Dietary Restrictions: Certain illnesses are exacerbated when particular foods are concerned. Those who have autism, for example, often also cannot consume gluten. This limits even further the types of food people who are homeless have access to.
Agencies in the Downtown Eastside: The vast majority of services for impoverished people are located in the Downtown Eastside; one of the individuals we interviewed described the area as “overserviced”. This means there are fewer services available elsewhere in the city, particularly the West End. What does this mean for those who are homeless? Several panhandlers we talked to indicated that they were located in the West End to avoid the environment of the Downtown Eastside. Several said that just entering area could serve as a trigger for the addictions they are recovering from. Others described the area as predatory, and potentially dangerous for younger street-intrenched people. What this means, then, is that these people, who are in the West End to improve their situation, lose access to a wide variety of food services.
Dental Problems: Unfortunately, those who are homeless also must go without dental care, which is not covered by the government. As such, they often have dental problems which further limit the types of food they have access to. Several panhandlers we met in the West End could not take the apples in our care packages because they could not eat them. Judy Graves mentioned that many of the foods generous people give to panhandlers are high in sugar and crunchy, such as apples and granola bars, and so they cannot be consumed. This is another reason why homeless people eat soft fast-food hamburgers.
Hostile Restaurants: As mentioned above, those who are homeless must rely on foods that do not require cooking. Oftentimes, the only way to get a balanced meal, then, is at a restaurant. However, many restaurants refuse to serve homeless-appearing people, even if they are able to pay. So even when costs are not a barrier, the restaurant may simply refuse to serve a homeless individual. This is yet another reason why the homeless eat a fast-food restaurants; they are often non-barriered.
Food Bank Requirements: To use a food bank in Vancouver are not as simple as it might seem. As our group learned from Jennifer Allan, there is an registration and identification system in place for food bank users. As you can read on the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society’s website, in order to even use the food bank, one needs to register an address and show a piece of government-issued identification. Unfortunately, many who are homeless cannot meet either of these requirements.
Other Requirements: Even if a homeless person is able to find a particular meal service, many of these services have particular requirements. Perhaps the food is only available for pregnant women, for example. One individual we interviewed had to lie and say she was pregnant in order to get enough food to survive.
All these barriers build up, layer upon layer, to make it impossible for those who are homeless to access sufficient, nutritious food. What options are left? Those of us who are homeless are essentially forced to eat unheathily, and stay dependent on the charity of others. If access to food is a right that everybody should have, then this particular segment of our communities is being left behind.
One of the themes that I’ve noticed in our discussions with people in the West End are the barriers some people face in terms of cooking. Of course, the thing about having affordable, nutritious food is that you need to have the ability and opportunity to cook good, nutritious meals. Pre-made meals are often highly processed and lacking nutrients, while healthy restaurant food is much too expensive for the average low-income person to have on a daily basis. So what are some of the issues we’ve encountered?
1) Cooking on a Budget
One key skill that not many people have is how to make interesting, tasty, nutritious meals on a budget. In my interview with Judy Graves, she compared two agencies which provided free meals for locals. One had an excellent cook which was able to cheaply create diverse, balanced meals using vegetable-based proteins and more unique ingredients such as quinoa. The other served potatoes, white rice, and… pasta. Oh, with a some mayonnaise on the side. This is not to bash any particular organization, but to show that even people who’s job it is to cook regularly may lack the specific knowledge on how to create balanced, tasty meals on a budget. It’s definitely a very precise skill, according to Judy.
2) Cooking Alone
The West End is relatively unique because it has a high number of single-person households. In fact, the average household size is just 1.4 people. As such, many people, including a large number of live-alone seniors, need to cook for themselves on a daily basis. This is tricky, as it can be hard to motivate oneself to cook if you’re alone. Having lived alone this past year, I can certainly attest to this. The social aspect of cooking was incredibly important. It was easy and fun to cook with some of my friends in the building, but it was almost painful to bring myself to cook a meal by myself. Cooking a balanced meal with carbohydrates, vegetables, and meat was particularly difficult, because I didn’t want to get three different pots going just for one meal for myself. Cooking alone also means you have to buy groceries for one. This means you’re less able to take advantage of bulk discounts, and your food can just go rotten in your fridge.
3) Cooking for Widowers
One of the interesting programs we heard about from one of the elders we interviewed was a cooking class for men, put on by a community seniors’ organization. At first, I didn’t understand why that was necessary. But, if a male lived most of his adult life in a household where his wife did all of the cooking, he would be placed in a difficult position if she passed away. As the West End is home to many live-alone seniors, this could be a problem of particular concern for this neighbourhood.
These examples go to show how important knowledge of effective and cost-efficient cooking techniques is. In addition to knowing the neighbourhood well enough to find the cheapest groceries, one needs to know how to prepare those meals in interesting ways. If anybody knows some great recipes, let us know!
– Aaron
Yesterday in class, our experience at the Dance Group came up.
Here is a link to the video that I mentioned, be sure to check it out! Alice described it best, we learned the language of dance which temporarily overcame the actual language barrier.
-Amrit
The Political Plate 