09/14/17

Urban Farming, Here We Come!

      

Have you ever wondered if urban farming or gardening will make a positive impact of food security?

Does input from community members matter when making decisions regarding local food choices?

How much impact does community farming have on the community it is meant to serve?

We are very much looking forward to collaborating with the Gordon Neighbourhood House working on measuring the impacts of urban farming in the community of the West End in Vancouver and finding out the answers to these questions!

 

About the Gordon Neighbourhood House

The Gordon Neighbourhood House (GNH) is a community gathering place for West End residents since 1942 and has a food philosophy revolving strongly around the concept of community food security and a dignified right for everyone to have access to healthy, affordable food.  Community food security is defined in our LFS 350 course notes as “all individuals in a community having access to affordable, safe, culturally appropriate, ecologically responsible and nutritionally adequate food at all times.”,and Gordon Neighbourhood House embraces this concept wholeheartedly in their collaboration with a wide array of members from the community; thereby providing programs which are a direct reflection of the community itself. Variety of educational and recreational activities are provided to people of all ages throughout the week, helping them to be connected with their neighbors and the whole community.

 

Group Goals, Interests & Reasons 

We are a group of LFS students with different academic backgrounds and majors but we are all concerned with different aspects of food. We have been brought together by common interests in local food security, urban farms and our love for food and of growing food! We were all particularly interested in the “Measuring the Impact of Urban Farming” project provided by Gordon Neighbourhood House because of their commitment to food justice, and the ability to see and try to understand the issues regarding food insecurity in highly diverse, inner-city neighbourhoods.  A side bonus of the project is to further understand and implement our newly acquired knowledge of asset-based community development (ABCD) through the lens of urban farming, community food security and food justice.

Our goals with this project include:

To gain hands-on experience with farming and interacting with the community through volunteering at each of the four farm sites and participating in each of the food-focused programs.

To collaborating with the community partners and stakeholders by actively listening to what they have to say and learning about the community, and by providing questions and input where possible.

To learn more about the importance of urban farming in the context of sustainable food system, community food security, and food justice through ABCD using the key end-users of the system as valuable input data.

 

Project Objectives

Our project objectives with the GNH are to work alongside the head farmer with all farm-based activities at the urban farm, such as harvesting, watering, and weeding at all the nieghbourhood urban farm sites.

We will help collect data and stories from the  farm volunteers and other contributing stakeholders using a specific set of questions which will be used for the Annual Farm Report and for future farming projects.

We hope to learn views from the community members of the Gordon Neighbourhood House and their activities through interviews using a specific set of questions.  This data will also be used for the Annual Farm Report and for future farming projects.

 

First Impressions

During our first encounter with Gordon Neighborhood House (GNH), we were very delighted and pleased to see how the concepts we learned and discovered in class were relevant and alive at GNH. This is because some of the concepts learned in class might have sounds like utopias, such as being able to create a place where people from every culture, background, gender, religious belief, etc., could interact together in harmony and mutual respect. But far from utopia, GNH seems to make it happen every day using many community building tools, such as urban farming and other food-based events revolving around their urban farms.

Another very important aspect that we discovered in class is the idea of ABCD, which is wonderfully brought to light by Mr. Sirolli and his highly eloquent TED talk. Mr. Sirolli explained through his own experience how good intentions can turn into complete disaster if we fail to recognize what the people we want to help actually want, and especially if we fail to acknowledge the talents and potentials already present within the community. We were then delighted to hear from real organization, here in Vancouver, how important and present in their mind the ABCD concept is!  They were committed to leading workshops lead by community members (rather than external “experts”). We are truly looking forward not only play a humble part in this organization but to learn how to channel our intention and help in a way that actually supports community growth.

 

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About Us – Group 7

Lindsay Blair

Major: Food, Nutrition, and Health

Interests: One of the things I have learned about myself in the past few years is my passion not only for healthy food and a healthy population, but also for growing healthy food and teaching the younger generations what food is, where it comes from, how it is sustainably grown, and how to use all parts of it; essentially, food justice is my passion.  I truly believe that urban farming is more important now than ever before; food insecurity is seemingly on the rise, and climate change is wreaking havoc on our crops and weather patterns.  Community food security is the main focus of my studies and takes precedence in my future goals as an FNH graduate. I hope to learn from the Gordon Neighbourhood House and the successes and failures of their programs to better my understanding of food justice and how ABCD is put to practice in the community.

 

Songpinle Xu 

Major: Food Market Analysis

Interests: My main interest is gardening. This is why I signed up for the Urban Farming. I really enjoy the achievement and happiness when I harvest vegetables that are grown and taken care of by myself. Growing process may not be much enjoyable since you have to water and weed frequently, but you can gain a better understanding how our food comes from and gain fresh organic fruits and vegetables with better taste. Gardening also enables family members and neighbors get connected by working together and sharing locally-sourced foods. And I think that is one of the goals that the Gordon Neighborhood House wants to achieve. It is going to be an awesome chance for me to learn more practical gardening knowledge through the visit to the farm and to see the impact of urban farms on the community.

 

Stéphane LAHAYE

Major: Dietetics

Interests: Being born in Europe’s countryside, where growing your own food is just as normal as brushing your teeth at night, it is without surprise that food as become part of my identity and the driving force of my career choice. Living now in cities in North America, I release that knowing where food come from, how it should look like, how it should taste like, and how to grow your own food is far from being common knowledge as I previously thought. I see on a daily basis how city living can easily take precious and ancestral knowledge away from us, one generation at the time, and turning us into docile consumers relying of the food industry for nutrients and information. My interest, as a future health practitioner, is to invite my patients and the public to go back to their own distinct history and culture, and see what they can learn from their ancestors that could transform their current relationship with food, sustainability, and long-term health.

 

Moeko Maruyama

Major: Food Science

Interests: Learning more about using fermentation in the production of food. I choose this project because I am interested in the process of growing food, especially in an inner city context and I found the Urban Farming project to be a perfect opportunity. Working in the lab is fun, but I am really excited about the opportunity to get my hands dirty in the Urban Farm Project with GNH! Previous LFS courses have taught me the importance of role of community in a sustainable food system; but I feel that the sense of community is weakening in today’s society. One of the things I am looking forward to the most through this project is to observe with my own eyes how GNH utilizes “food” as a vehicle to successfully bring the community together and learn some ways to combat the loss of sense of community. I am really looking forward to working with the team and the community on the Urban Farming Project!

 

Karina Song

Major: Food Science

Interests: As a Food Science Major, I mainly study the biochemistry and microbiology of foods and how it pertains to food processing, engineering, and safety. As described, my field of study does not touch much on nutrition and agriculture. However, that is not to say I am not also interested in these other aspects of food and food production! With this urban farming project in cooperation with the Gordon Neighbourhood House, I hope to integrate my studies and supplement my basic understanding of our local food system. This project particularly piqued my interest as I find that urban farming will be increasingly relevant and essential in the coming years. This is because climate change and socioeconomic divides have exacerbated and it has become more imperative to effectively and swiftly address these issues. Eating more locally grown foods has a smaller carbon footprint, increase accessibility to fresh and healthy food and provide a tangible connection to our community. I am definitely looking forward to working in the community of the West End and increasing my food literacy!

 

Athena Yaoutsis

Major: Plant and Soil Science

Interests: I am Athena Yaoutsis, a 4th year Plant and Soil Science student. I love plants and growing food so I’m quite excited to be working on the Urban Farm Project at Gordon House. It’s important to me that people know where their food comes from and how it is grown. As a resident of the West End I see how easy it is to separate city life from an agricultural setting where our food is grown. I’m excited to contribute to the community and observe how the Urban Farming Project gives West End residents an opportunity to see where their food comes from and allows them to have access to healthy, locally grown food.

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