LFS350/Projects/2021-Term2/DTESNH

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Overview

Project Title

Support Our Urban Farm Project

OR

Right to Food Zine (Publication)

Organization Name

Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House

Keywords

Related Course Concepts

Food justice, Food security, Asset-based community development, Social class/income inequality, Cultural identities, Racism, Colonialism, Indigenous food sovereignty

Organization Information

Organization Name

Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House

Mission and Vision of Organization

To provide opportunities for residents to meaningfully engage with and contribute to their community in an equitable atmosphere of sharing and learning. The secular, grassroots Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House (DTES NH) embraces people of all ancestries, genders, ages and descriptions; annually welcoming almost 9,000 DTES residents in a community where 70% of our neighbours have low‐incomes, 700 are homeless and 5,000 are under-housed. Our programming is community inspired and varied, a sampling of which has included a Chinese Elders Community Kitchen, Traditional Aboriginal Community Kitchen, Leadership Development, a Children’s Community Kitchen, Nutritional Outreach Activities (Mobile Smoothie Project and Banana Beat), The Healing Circle, Father’s for Thought, Table Talks project, Family Drop In: Families, Farming and Food, Community Drop-in and the production of a Right to Food Zine. Those who built the DTES NH put the Right to Food at the heart of our work, as nutritional vulnerability was a theme familiar to all. Our goal around the Right to Food is to reform the nutritional impact, quality, abundance and delivery of food in the DTES in consultation with residents, community food providers, non‐food community organizations, healthcare professionals, policy makers, growers/suppliers, food/beverage industry professionals and researchers.

Guiding Principles + Values

We know food to be a communicative instrument and hence use its offering as an instrument of community building. The average DTES resident lives with one or more serious health issues, has a compromised immune system and is under- housed. Coupled with extreme material poverty, the lack of adequate housing renders people incapable of providing themselves with adequate nutrition. Typical housing quarters provide one small room with no cooking facilities or storage for foodstuffs. Many of our neighbours live in Single Room Occupancy units (SROs). The average DTES diet consists of a of starch (in the form of white rice and pasta); copious amounts of tasteless coffee garnished with coffee whitener (an addictive petroleum by-product) and refined sugar; endless soup; day old pastries and donuts; dishes made with an alarming amount of taste enhancing chemical additives; and processed foods. These ‘foods’ do not support positive health outcomes for our neighbours, but remain omnipresent in our community. What is not found in the average DTES diet is local, seasonal, fresh produce; sweets which are healthy (eg dates and figs); dishes made without additives and refined sugars; homemade vinaigrettes; alternatives to dairy products; and generally speaking fresh, identifiable foods. These are the things that the Neighbourhood House works to make available for our neighbours. When one is materially poor, the first things lost are privacy and choice. Offering people a choice of the foods they ingest is a critical piece of the NH food philosophy. It’s a commonly held myth that those living in poverty don’t have nutritional knowledge or aspirations.

Contact Information

  • Primary Contact Person: Brittany Garunk (She/Her)
  • Email: [[1]]
  • Phone: 604-215-2030  
  • Address:  573 E. Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1P9
  • Website:   dtesnhouse.ca
  • Secondary Contact Person: Rory Sutherland
  • Secondary Contact Person Email: ED@dteshouse.ca

Preferred Method of Contact

  • Best method(s) to contact:  
  • Best day(s) to contact:
  • Best time(s) to contact:  

Preferred Platform(s) for Remote Collaboration

  • no

Project Description

Context: What challenge or issue does the project aim to address?

We have 2 different projects you from—DTES Neighbourhood House Urban Farm, or Right to Food Zine. Here is some info on each: In Spring 2020, Patrick Moore from UBC Ethnography partnered with the DTESNH to convert an abandoned garden adjacent to the NH into a food producing garden to support an increase in meals being served from the NH during the COVID-19 crisis The project was initially funded through private donations and the committed labour of volunteers led by Patrick and DTESNH Staff, who are reactivating the lot, including 140 abandoned raised beds. Over 2000 seedlings were started and transplanted into the space. We have worked with the owner of the property to lease it from him for a three-year period, and to obtain the necessary insurance to cover the change in use. Now that these steps have been taken, we need support to create a robust urban farming project plan to make the best use of the space this upcoming season. Right to Food Zine’s mission is to promote the human right to food that is healthy, nutritious, affordable, and presented with dignity. Our voices reflect the diversity that is the Downtown Eastside. Our articles, research, and recipes speak to the DTES residents, social justice groups, and beyond. We inform our readers, while fostering the desire to know more and to become more engaged. As part of the DTES community, we strive to be a tool for community-building. RTF Zine is grassroots and completely volunteer run (with support from the DTES Neighbourhood House). Students who choose this project will be working with NH staff (Rory and Brittany) as well as the Editor; Shannon, and potentially other zine contributors. Formats including but not limited to: informative, and/or expressive/creative articles, personal story-telling by community members, artwork, recipes, and poetry are selected to be published based on their adherence to RTF Zine’s mission statement (considering both the choice of topic and tone/voice/perspective of the submission). RTF Zine’s audience is firstly DTES community members, which is taken into consideration for proposed content (content for the community, not content that explains the community to others). This zine is free and available online and in print.

Main Project Activities

Urban Farm: -

  • Students will research urban agriculture initiatives in food insecure communities provide description of most successful models
  • Learn about DTESNH and our urban farm project and find appropriate resources to support this work organize and evaluate findings.

RTF Zine:

  • Students will read past issues of the zine to gain understanding of the language used, and topics covered over the years in order to contribute in a meaningful way.
  • Assist with the production of the DTESNH Right to Food Zine food security publication.
  • Each student will produce an item to be published in RTF Zine, or make a quantifiable, substantive contribution to the publication process (e.g. leading workshops, or editing articles), this contribution can also build on their related knowledge, skills, and interests.
  • Students will prioritize the needs of the zine and zine volunteers (choosing to contribute by taking on a specific article or task that has already been requested or suggested).

Expected Project Deliverable(s)

Urban Farm:

Students will research and evaluate models of inner city urban agriculture in marginalized communities

They will draft recommendations for the use of the DTESNH urban farm site and create proposals for potential course of action.

RTF Zine: -

The main project deliverable is a vibrant RTF Zine edition that reflects the food and nutrition-related needs and aspirations of the community we are a part of and serve

Each student’s deliverable will be what they have contributed to the zine (whether that is through submitting content, or assistance in editorial processes such as editing, designing, or producing materials that support the zine’s prosperity (helping with distribution, creating posters and social media posts, or helping to create a unique style guide).

Intended Project Outcome

Urban Farm:

The DTESNH Urban Farm will provide healthy organic produce grown for the community by the community. Student contributions to the project will mean that we are well organized and resourced for the 2021 growing season.

RTF Zine: -This issue of RTF Zine will share the food and nutrition related stories, information, needs and aspirations of the community that we are a part of and serve - Student contributions to this issue of RTF Zine will help showcase these stories.

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

Preferred Skills and Assets Urban Farm: knowledge of gardening and farming knowledge of social enterprise models experience interacting with vulnerable populations understanding of food security issues and right to food interest in community development interest in research, evaluation, and report writing RTF Zine: knowledge of nutrition, cooking skills, food safety, food procurement strategies experience interacting with vulnerable populations understanding of food security issues and right to food interest in storytelling interest in community based research interest in writing and publishing.
Required Skills and Assets N/A
Helpful Additional Language Skills RTF Zine: bilingual students may be able to help create content for a wider audience (see Issue 13: Honouring Vancouver Cantonese Seniors http://rtfzine.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Cantonese-Seniors_complete_smaller.pdf)

Student Assets and Skills (to be developed through the project)

  • Urban Farm: Build on existing interests/skills/talents such as gardening/farming, research, advocacy, writing, to meaningfully engage in community, build relationships, collaborate and create an amazing urban farm project for (and with) local residents and allies.
  • RTF Zine: Explore, or build on existing interests/skills/talents such as design, research advocacy, writing, to meaningfully engage in community, build relationships, - Collaborate and create an amazing food security publication for local residents and allies.

Are there any mandatory attendance dates (e.g. special event)?

  • no

Is a criminal record search (CRS) required?

No

If a criminal record search is required, when should the process be initiated?  

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

Required Reading

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

Students should review these materials prior to the first partner meeting:

Additional Project/Partner Orientation Materials

The following will be provided at the first community partner meeting:

  • RTF Zine: The following will be provided at the first community partner meeting: - "Intro to RTF Zine" document (will send to you prior to first meeting) Urban farm: The following will be provided at the first community partner meeting: - All urban farm-related documentation and research we have developed to date.

Expected Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

I hope students will learn about...

  • food security in the DTES, strengths-based community development and the Neighbourhood House movement

I think students will come to appreciate...

  • Regardless of their material circumstances, people in the DTES have a keen interest in and passion for food.

Through this project, students will develop...

  • Awareness of the complexity of food insecurity in the DTES and problems with the charity model of human services (which encourages further learning and understanding of these issues over time).

Organizational Outcomes

How does the student project contribute to your organization's mission and long-term vision?

  • RTF Zine: contributing to possible solutions to the complex issues around food security in the DTES. The Zine project advances DTES NH's mission to provide opportunities for residents to meaningfully engage with and contribute to their community in an equitable atmosphere of sharing and learning. Urban Farm: providing opportunities for residents to meaningfully engage with, and contribute to their community in an equitable atmosphere of sharing and learning. This project is an amazing opportunity for us to grow organic produce for nutritionally vulnerable community members, share knowledge about gardening with the community in peaceful space, and build a resilient food asset that the community has ownership of.
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