Introduction
We are group 11 and this semester we are working alongside Joanne at the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House. The DTES Neighbourhood House is a secular, locally governed, non-profit centre that is part of a global neighbourhood house movement and is located at 573 East Hastings Street in the DTES. The DTES Neighbourhood House mandate is to provide residences with local, seasonal, and fresh produce, as these are foods that not regularly found in the typical diet for the DTES residents . Moreover, their major goal is to provide residents with access to this community choice, as this is the first thing lost when you rely on your food coming from food banks. The DTES mission is to improve the quality of life within the DTES community. The DTES Neighbourhood House serves a weekly meal on Wednesdays prepared by volunteers the night before, using only fresh produce that has been donated from Pro Organics. During the rest of the week they offer oatmeal in the mornings.
First Impression
Our group attended the orientation event at the UBC Learning Exchange on January 22th, and we were given information regarding our project as well as the DTES community as a whole. We learnt that there are several communities that work together in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood. The UBC Learning Exchange provides support to the neighborhood through programs such as open computer labs, English conversation activities, and musical events, all of which residents of the neighbourhood thoroughly enjoy.
After the orientation meeting, we went to the DTES Neighbourhood House. The DTES Neighbourhood House is small and warm. Staff there are very friendly and helpful. There are many different activities that are held there throughout the week, for example, on wednesday individuals can be served fresh fruits and vegetables as well as whole grain bread. Residents also can cook together during certain special events.
As Ernesto Sirolli’s TED Talk mentioned, food distribution in different areas is always unequal; people have different power and access to food (Sirolli, 2012). Food justice exists when the benefits and risks of how food is grown, processed, transported, distributed, and consumed are shared equitably. Based on food justice, and community responsibility, the DTES Neighbourhood House tries their best to provide healthy and diverse food options to residents nearby. Having a diverse array of food options is incredibly helpful for residents who have dietary restrictions such as diabetes or hypertension. Our task for this term is to research and collect data about 25 food programs in the DTES so that residents with dietary restrictions have access to information about the specific foodchoices these 25 food programs offer and where they are located. Our first impression of the DTES Neighbourhood House was wonderful and we are so excited to work with them during this term.
Meet Group 11:
From Left to Right: Yuan, Emma, Mikaela, Keiten, Elena
My name is Yuan Tian, I am in my third year of the Nutritional Sciences program. In my spare time, I like dancing, exercising, and cooking. Food is a big part of my life. I enjoy selecting food in the market as well as cooking it in my kitchen. As we see huge improvements in food technology, more processed food pours into the food market and we are faced with the decision to choose either fast food or food made from scratch. Food insecurity is also an issue to be considered. I chose this project because I want to talk to the local residents of the DTES about their experiences and opinions on food. I want to immerse myself in the DTES community, and work alongside the community members to make sure they are food secure and that their diets are nutritionally adequate.
My name is Emma Caputo and I am currently in my third year of the Nutritional Sciences program. In my spare time I like to run, hike, ski and do yoga. I have always been interested in food and its impact that it has on people and I am really excited to explore the topics surrounding food justice more this semester. Food is something that creates a common ground for all people and working with the DTES neighbourhood programs this will create a greater understanding of this concept.
My name is Mikaela Kroeker and I am currently in my fourth year in the Food Nutrition and Health program. In my free time I love doing anything outdoors including, skiing, hiking, kayaking and running. I am passionate about food and its effect on the human body and its incredible ability to heal. I love to cook and experiment with new recipes. I chose this project because I am interested in seeing and learning more about the DTES foodscape and the different food options that are available to DTES residents. This community is close to my heart as one of my cousins lived here for many years and experienced many of the health challenges caused by inadequate nutrition that some DTES community members face. I am eager to immerse myself in this community, connect with residents and hope to be able to have a positive impact on the community by creating a thorough community resource document that includes all the different food programs and what dietary accommodations they offer for people with chronic diseases and allergies.
My name is Keiten Brown and I am in my 4th year at UBC in the Global Resource Systems program. Within this program I focus my studies on Canadian Aboriginal and Public Health. I am passionate about Aboriginal health and feel that a lot of people overlook the issues that this population endures within Canada. I hope to find a career in the medical field where I can improve some health issues/conditions, especially within my own Aboriginal community and communities across the country. This is one reason why I showed interest in the DTES Neighbourhood House project. A large portion of the at-risk population that live in the DTES are of Aboriginal descent, and therefore I’m very excited to be a part of this project. I am eager to learn more about food justice this semester and food security. I find the survey that we will perform to be very interesting. I think it is very important that people’s food allergies, preferences, and restrictions are met, I look forward to see how many locations cater to people’s unique dietary needs. I also like how DTES Neighbourhood House brings the community together and doesn’t just distribute food. Seperate from this project, in my spare time I love dancing, hiking, skiing, surfing, and travelling.
Hi I’m Elena Adiletta, I am in my 3rd year of Food, Nutrition and Health in the hopes of entering into the Food Science program. In my free time I enjoy cooking, playing soccer, and just getting outside. Growing up, food has always been an integral part of my family, our family of 8 would share meals everyday together and I think that taught me the importance of how food can bring people together. This is one of the many reasons that DTES Neighborhood House really interested me because I think bringing the community together through food is a great way to connect. I’m intrigued to find out what other food programs are offered throughout the DTES.
DTES Neighbourhood House
The organization we are working with this semester is the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House (DTES). The objective of this project are as follows: conduct a survey that will collect data regarding food programs offered in the community and the dietary accommodations that each program offers. Next, once we have collected sufficient data we will create a resource document of all the different places that have food options for people with diverse dietary needs.
The DTES Neighbourhood House prides themselves on listening to the community members to create programs that the community needs and can benefit from. As we learned in the TED talk it’s really important to listen to the community and their needs rather than giving them what you personally feel they want. For instance, Joanne had said that many community members that go to the DTES Neighbourhood House appreciate the good food because some of them do not enjoy the processed foods that are donated very often. She also expressed that thecommunity appreciates the choices they are given for meals because they are able to choose from multiple dishes allowing them to feel dignified.
References:
Sirolli, E. (2012). Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ernesto_sirolli_want_to_help_someone_shut_up_and_listen