Weekly Objectives:<\/span><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/groupthirteen\/files\/2018\/02\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-15-at-12.16.23-PM-300x253.png\")
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAchievements:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- Submitted Project Proposal, met with our community partner to articulate next steps<\/span><\/li>\n
- Responded effectively to community partner\u2019s feedback on email and interview questions for new restaurant owners<\/span><\/li>\n
- Secured three interviews so far, looking to secure three more<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What, So What, Now What<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/groupthirteen\/files\/2018\/02\/What_-1-300x300.png\")
<\/p>\n
This framework serves as a valuable mode of reflection on a significant moment that has happened so far in our work.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/groupthirteen\/files\/2018\/02\/What_-1-1-300x169.png\")
<\/p>\n
Chinatown has historically been a place of discrimination where Chinese migrants were not allowed to live or work outside its boundaries. As noted in Session 8 of the lectures series, these strict spatial lines drawn by White settlers created an ethnic enclave where the Chinese population would grow a strong community, albeit not without challenges (Dring, C., Lim, S. & M. Wilson, 2018). We have learned from our community partner that the dismantling of these oppressive structures can be addressed through the emergence of new business in the area: in how they can collaboratively acknowledge the sensitivity of working in a neighborhood with residents of lower incomes and ethnic minorities, and how businesses can play a role in providing key partnerships between new and traditional food businesses. <\/span><\/p>\nOur interview with a member of a business association was a significant experience that alluded to some of the information we may uncover in our upcoming interviews. At our last community partner meeting, we conducted an impromptu group interview in order to find out what services the business association currently offers, as well as to get a feel for what services and resources they would be able to offer (if we were to recommend it). More importantly, we discovered some parallels to the struggles that currently exist between new and traditional businesses.\u00a0The division between the old and the young paralleled the division between some of the perceived divisions between the newer and older businesses, as there are fundamentally different ways of thinking about and addressing problems. They are the youngest member by far and having recently joined the association is bringing new ideas, values and ways of thinking that are not shared with the other members of the association.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/groupthirteen\/files\/2018\/02\/What_-2-300x169.png\")
<\/h3>\n
This has great relevance to the interviews we will be conducting, and the potential gaps we may uncover. While there is intergenerational work being done in the area, there is still more to be done to bridge the different age groups. Furthermore, the culture clash from groups of various racial and ethnic backgrounds has brought about a more recent fragmented neighbourhood. Part of our job is to start to chip away at barriers and find ways to encourage social cohesion between businesses by laying the groundwork for more research in this area.<\/span><\/p>\nAlthough they expressed frustration about being only one out of nine members that felt passionate about spearheading environmental initiatives, he also pointed out the importance of respecting the older business\u2019 wisdom in order to move forward. When we contact these newer businesses, it is important to keep in mind that not all businesses may not be aware of these cultural values of elders\u2019 wisdom and understand the history of the community they are conducting business in. Thus, there are many complexities and nuances that businesses may not be prepared to navigate on their own. It is our job then to make sure our questions are unbiased in order to confirm or deny if these values exist beyond our own experiences and assumptions. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/groupthirteen\/files\/2018\/02\/What_-3-300x169.png\")
<\/h3>\n
As we move forward into our interviews and analysis we should keep in mind the complexities of the relationships between businesses and different ways of thinking. Although it is easy to come in with preconceived ideas of what the situation will be like (ie. new businesses will automatically not want to collaborate with existing suppliers, the resources they need will be unable to be provided), we must throw those ideas to the side. Since there is little information regarding the situation, we must go in open to all options, while maintaining respect for both new and traditional ways of conducting business and running restaurants. We must keep in mind the points highlighted at our orientation with the Learning Exchange regarding the DTES, including not be extractive and to really examine the assets of the community and find out how we can strengthen those. For example, in A Warm Meal and a Bed: Intersections of Housing and Food Security in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside<\/i>, Miewald et al. (2014), found that the inexpensive produce stands and restaurants of Chinatown were an important resource for the DTES community, particularly for sourcing affordable, fresh food. These assets should also be considered when studying the changing foodscape and socioeconomic profile of Chinatown. Finally, as we proceed with the interviews with current business owners we will do our best to \u201cshut up and listen\u201d (to yet again quote from Ernesto Sirolli\u2019s TED talk) – to be there for our interviewees and listen to the lived experiences and insights they have to offer us. <\/span><\/p>\nFor our project, we will also be contributing to a larger research project on social cohesion, conducted by Christina Lee.Christina is a hua foundation staff member who works on special projects. \u00a0We are placed in a unique position by contributing to this larger project, are stand alone\u00a0as many of the LFS projects are standalone,\u00a0<\/span>or will not be continued after the class is done. The Module on Capacity Building for Sustained Change<\/a> (University of Memphis) our team members participated in highlights the goals for community service learning to be \u201creciprocal and generative [in] nature\u201d as well as allow the community partner to \u201cincrease their own knowledge\u201d and \u201cexpand their own resources\u201d. We were required to complete it by LFS350 in order to identify how building upon the existing capacity of a community can be used to create sustained change. This places greater pressure on us to make sure we take into consideration the differing perspectives, as our work will contribute to the larger discourse surrounding social cohesion and resiliency in the Chinatown business network.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/groupthirteen\/files\/2018\/02\/E-Georgia-Greengrocer-1-300x169.jpg\")
Chinatown Green Grocer, Credit: Jimmy Hu<\/p><\/div>\n
Reflections on Lecture Content<\/strong><\/h2>\nDespite the differences in our group members\u2019 backgrounds and experiences, we are all able to appreciate the role of race in the power relations within the food system in B.C. Specifically, we found the course reading by Gibb and Wittman (2013) to be an interesting read, with many points of intersection with our project. Chinatown was first established as a means by white people in power to segregate and restrict Chinese immigrants (Dring, C., Lim, S. & M. Wilson, 2018); even then, the Chinese held on to their cultural assets, and developed a strong network of support and community for each other. That is a remarkable endeavour we as students in the modern day may not be able to imagine.<\/span><\/p>\nGibb and Wittman\u2019s study (2013) focused on the notion of \u201cparallel food systems\u201d – that is, a situation where two local food networks exist together but with \u201cfew points of intentional connection and collaboration\u201d (Gibb & Wittman, 2013). Our work with the hua foundation in Chinatown explores exactly that: the network of Chinese-owned stores and greengrocers supported by Chinese farmers, which seems to exist in parallel with the network of farmer\u2019s markets and food initiatives supported by the City of Vancouver. We have mentioned in our first blog post that we were appalled by the number of Chinese-owned greengrocers, butcher shops and fishmongers that had gone out of business in recent years. Seeing these key players in the local food network diminish while similar businesses in other areas continue to receive guidance and support programs from the City, really drives home the reality that the Chinatown food system is very distinct from the food system in the rest of Vancouver, and gets treated very differently too.<\/span><\/p>\nUpcoming Objectives and Strategies<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/groupthirteen\/files\/2018\/02\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-15-at-2.00.27-PM-300x201.png\")
<\/p>\n
Strategies to Analyze the Results <\/b><\/p>\n
In order to analyze the interviews, we will compare their responses to our initial research questions:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- What are existing social and professional connections between food assets in Chinatown?<\/span><\/li>\n
- How can these connections be strengthened? <\/span><\/li>\n
- What are the major barriers for creating connections between food assets\/businesses in Chinatown? <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Each interview will be roughly transcribed (key sections) by one of the interviewers. The other interviewer will perform the analysis. In order to not overload those who are conducting more than one interview, a group member who was not present may perform either the analysis or transcription for one interview. \u00a0To analyze each interview, the transcription will be re-read to increase familiarity then the text will be labelled with recurring themes ie resources, diversity, suppliers. From this coding, larger themes will be drawn and defined. At the end of the analysis, the research questions will be answered and a short summary of other interesting findings will be provided. These individual analyses will be included as an appendix in our final report. \u00a0After each interview has been analyzed a meta-analysis will be conducted to identify overarching themes and what resources are needed. Future research questions will also be identified. <\/span><\/p>\nWe will also ask for all interviewees consent in order to publish their name and business name. Businesses are also welcome to stay anonymous. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/b>After all of this preparatory work, we are excited to dive in and see what sorts of responses we will get from our interviews. Will they match our current expectations? Will we uncover new information? How will this be valuable to the hua foundation and the Chinatown community as a whole? These are all questions we anticipate uncovering in the next few weeks!<\/p>\n
References<\/b><\/span><\/p>\nGibb, N., & Wittman, H. (2013). Parallel alternatives: Chinese-Canadian farmers and the Metro Vancouver local food movement. Local Environment, 18(1), 1\u201319.<\/span><\/p>\nMiewald, C. & Ostry, A. (2014) A Warm Meal and a Bed: Intersections of Housing and Food Security in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Housing Studies, 29(<\/em>6), 709-729, DOI: 10.1080\/02673037.2014.920769<\/span><\/p>\nMODULE: <\/span>Capacity Building for Sustained Change<\/span><\/a>. Engaged Scholarship. University of Memphis.<\/span><\/p>\nSirolli, E. (2012, August). Retrieved January 26, 2018, from <\/span>https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/ernesto_sirolli_want_to_help_someone_shut_up_and_listen<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of learning and growing moments, and significant progress has been made on our project! We’ve set a timeline of objectives for the remainder of the project, met with our community … Continue reading
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAchievements:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- Submitted Project Proposal, met with our community partner to articulate next steps<\/span><\/li>\n
- Responded effectively to community partner\u2019s feedback on email and interview questions for new restaurant owners<\/span><\/li>\n
- Secured three interviews so far, looking to secure three more<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What, So What, Now What<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
This framework serves as a valuable mode of reflection on a significant moment that has happened so far in our work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chinatown has historically been a place of discrimination where Chinese migrants were not allowed to live or work outside its boundaries. As noted in Session 8 of the lectures series, these strict spatial lines drawn by White settlers created an ethnic enclave where the Chinese population would grow a strong community, albeit not without challenges (Dring, C., Lim, S. & M. Wilson, 2018). We have learned from our community partner that the dismantling of these oppressive structures can be addressed through the emergence of new business in the area: in how they can collaboratively acknowledge the sensitivity of working in a neighborhood with residents of lower incomes and ethnic minorities, and how businesses can play a role in providing key partnerships between new and traditional food businesses. <\/span><\/p>\nOur interview with a member of a business association was a significant experience that alluded to some of the information we may uncover in our upcoming interviews. At our last community partner meeting, we conducted an impromptu group interview in order to find out what services the business association currently offers, as well as to get a feel for what services and resources they would be able to offer (if we were to recommend it). More importantly, we discovered some parallels to the struggles that currently exist between new and traditional businesses.\u00a0The division between the old and the young paralleled the division between some of the perceived divisions between the newer and older businesses, as there are fundamentally different ways of thinking about and addressing problems. They are the youngest member by far and having recently joined the association is bringing new ideas, values and ways of thinking that are not shared with the other members of the association.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
This has great relevance to the interviews we will be conducting, and the potential gaps we may uncover. While there is intergenerational work being done in the area, there is still more to be done to bridge the different age groups. Furthermore, the culture clash from groups of various racial and ethnic backgrounds has brought about a more recent fragmented neighbourhood. Part of our job is to start to chip away at barriers and find ways to encourage social cohesion between businesses by laying the groundwork for more research in this area.<\/span><\/p>\nAlthough they expressed frustration about being only one out of nine members that felt passionate about spearheading environmental initiatives, he also pointed out the importance of respecting the older business\u2019 wisdom in order to move forward. When we contact these newer businesses, it is important to keep in mind that not all businesses may not be aware of these cultural values of elders\u2019 wisdom and understand the history of the community they are conducting business in. Thus, there are many complexities and nuances that businesses may not be prepared to navigate on their own. It is our job then to make sure our questions are unbiased in order to confirm or deny if these values exist beyond our own experiences and assumptions. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
As we move forward into our interviews and analysis we should keep in mind the complexities of the relationships between businesses and different ways of thinking. Although it is easy to come in with preconceived ideas of what the situation will be like (ie. new businesses will automatically not want to collaborate with existing suppliers, the resources they need will be unable to be provided), we must throw those ideas to the side. Since there is little information regarding the situation, we must go in open to all options, while maintaining respect for both new and traditional ways of conducting business and running restaurants. We must keep in mind the points highlighted at our orientation with the Learning Exchange regarding the DTES, including not be extractive and to really examine the assets of the community and find out how we can strengthen those. For example, in A Warm Meal and a Bed: Intersections of Housing and Food Security in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside<\/i>, Miewald et al. (2014), found that the inexpensive produce stands and restaurants of Chinatown were an important resource for the DTES community, particularly for sourcing affordable, fresh food. These assets should also be considered when studying the changing foodscape and socioeconomic profile of Chinatown. Finally, as we proceed with the interviews with current business owners we will do our best to \u201cshut up and listen\u201d (to yet again quote from Ernesto Sirolli\u2019s TED talk) – to be there for our interviewees and listen to the lived experiences and insights they have to offer us. <\/span><\/p>\nFor our project, we will also be contributing to a larger research project on social cohesion, conducted by Christina Lee.Christina is a hua foundation staff member who works on special projects. \u00a0We are placed in a unique position by contributing to this larger project, are stand alone\u00a0as many of the LFS projects are standalone,\u00a0<\/span>or will not be continued after the class is done. The Module on Capacity Building for Sustained Change<\/a> (University of Memphis) our team members participated in highlights the goals for community service learning to be \u201creciprocal and generative [in] nature\u201d as well as allow the community partner to \u201cincrease their own knowledge\u201d and \u201cexpand their own resources\u201d. We were required to complete it by LFS350 in order to identify how building upon the existing capacity of a community can be used to create sustained change. This places greater pressure on us to make sure we take into consideration the differing perspectives, as our work will contribute to the larger discourse surrounding social cohesion and resiliency in the Chinatown business network.<\/span><\/p>\nChinatown Green Grocer, Credit: Jimmy Hu<\/p><\/div>\n
Reflections on Lecture Content<\/strong><\/h2>\nDespite the differences in our group members\u2019 backgrounds and experiences, we are all able to appreciate the role of race in the power relations within the food system in B.C. Specifically, we found the course reading by Gibb and Wittman (2013) to be an interesting read, with many points of intersection with our project. Chinatown was first established as a means by white people in power to segregate and restrict Chinese immigrants (Dring, C., Lim, S. & M. Wilson, 2018); even then, the Chinese held on to their cultural assets, and developed a strong network of support and community for each other. That is a remarkable endeavour we as students in the modern day may not be able to imagine.<\/span><\/p>\nGibb and Wittman\u2019s study (2013) focused on the notion of \u201cparallel food systems\u201d – that is, a situation where two local food networks exist together but with \u201cfew points of intentional connection and collaboration\u201d (Gibb & Wittman, 2013). Our work with the hua foundation in Chinatown explores exactly that: the network of Chinese-owned stores and greengrocers supported by Chinese farmers, which seems to exist in parallel with the network of farmer\u2019s markets and food initiatives supported by the City of Vancouver. We have mentioned in our first blog post that we were appalled by the number of Chinese-owned greengrocers, butcher shops and fishmongers that had gone out of business in recent years. Seeing these key players in the local food network diminish while similar businesses in other areas continue to receive guidance and support programs from the City, really drives home the reality that the Chinatown food system is very distinct from the food system in the rest of Vancouver, and gets treated very differently too.<\/span><\/p>\nUpcoming Objectives and Strategies<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Strategies to Analyze the Results <\/b><\/p>\n
In order to analyze the interviews, we will compare their responses to our initial research questions:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- What are existing social and professional connections between food assets in Chinatown?<\/span><\/li>\n
- How can these connections be strengthened? <\/span><\/li>\n
- What are the major barriers for creating connections between food assets\/businesses in Chinatown? <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Each interview will be roughly transcribed (key sections) by one of the interviewers. The other interviewer will perform the analysis. In order to not overload those who are conducting more than one interview, a group member who was not present may perform either the analysis or transcription for one interview. \u00a0To analyze each interview, the transcription will be re-read to increase familiarity then the text will be labelled with recurring themes ie resources, diversity, suppliers. From this coding, larger themes will be drawn and defined. At the end of the analysis, the research questions will be answered and a short summary of other interesting findings will be provided. These individual analyses will be included as an appendix in our final report. \u00a0After each interview has been analyzed a meta-analysis will be conducted to identify overarching themes and what resources are needed. Future research questions will also be identified. <\/span><\/p>\nWe will also ask for all interviewees consent in order to publish their name and business name. Businesses are also welcome to stay anonymous. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/b>After all of this preparatory work, we are excited to dive in and see what sorts of responses we will get from our interviews. Will they match our current expectations? Will we uncover new information? How will this be valuable to the hua foundation and the Chinatown community as a whole? These are all questions we anticipate uncovering in the next few weeks!<\/p>\n
References<\/b><\/span><\/p>\nGibb, N., & Wittman, H. (2013). Parallel alternatives: Chinese-Canadian farmers and the Metro Vancouver local food movement. Local Environment, 18(1), 1\u201319.<\/span><\/p>\nMiewald, C. & Ostry, A. (2014) A Warm Meal and a Bed: Intersections of Housing and Food Security in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Housing Studies, 29(<\/em>6), 709-729, DOI: 10.1080\/02673037.2014.920769<\/span><\/p>\nMODULE: <\/span>Capacity Building for Sustained Change<\/span><\/a>. Engaged Scholarship. University of Memphis.<\/span><\/p>\nSirolli, E. (2012, August). Retrieved January 26, 2018, from <\/span>https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/ernesto_sirolli_want_to_help_someone_shut_up_and_listen<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of learning and growing moments, and significant progress has been made on our project! We’ve set a timeline of objectives for the remainder of the project, met with our community … Continue reading
What, So What, Now What<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
This framework serves as a valuable mode of reflection on a significant moment that has happened so far in our work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chinatown has historically been a place of discrimination where Chinese migrants were not allowed to live or work outside its boundaries. As noted in Session 8 of the lectures series, these strict spatial lines drawn by White settlers created an ethnic enclave where the Chinese population would grow a strong community, albeit not without challenges (Dring, C., Lim, S. & M. Wilson, 2018). We have learned from our community partner that the dismantling of these oppressive structures can be addressed through the emergence of new business in the area: in how they can collaboratively acknowledge the sensitivity of working in a neighborhood with residents of lower incomes and ethnic minorities, and how businesses can play a role in providing key partnerships between new and traditional food businesses. <\/span><\/p>\nOur interview with a member of a business association was a significant experience that alluded to some of the information we may uncover in our upcoming interviews. At our last community partner meeting, we conducted an impromptu group interview in order to find out what services the business association currently offers, as well as to get a feel for what services and resources they would be able to offer (if we were to recommend it). More importantly, we discovered some parallels to the struggles that currently exist between new and traditional businesses.\u00a0The division between the old and the young paralleled the division between some of the perceived divisions between the newer and older businesses, as there are fundamentally different ways of thinking about and addressing problems. They are the youngest member by far and having recently joined the association is bringing new ideas, values and ways of thinking that are not shared with the other members of the association.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
This has great relevance to the interviews we will be conducting, and the potential gaps we may uncover. While there is intergenerational work being done in the area, there is still more to be done to bridge the different age groups. Furthermore, the culture clash from groups of various racial and ethnic backgrounds has brought about a more recent fragmented neighbourhood. Part of our job is to start to chip away at barriers and find ways to encourage social cohesion between businesses by laying the groundwork for more research in this area.<\/span><\/p>\nAlthough they expressed frustration about being only one out of nine members that felt passionate about spearheading environmental initiatives, he also pointed out the importance of respecting the older business\u2019 wisdom in order to move forward. When we contact these newer businesses, it is important to keep in mind that not all businesses may not be aware of these cultural values of elders\u2019 wisdom and understand the history of the community they are conducting business in. Thus, there are many complexities and nuances that businesses may not be prepared to navigate on their own. It is our job then to make sure our questions are unbiased in order to confirm or deny if these values exist beyond our own experiences and assumptions. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
As we move forward into our interviews and analysis we should keep in mind the complexities of the relationships between businesses and different ways of thinking. Although it is easy to come in with preconceived ideas of what the situation will be like (ie. new businesses will automatically not want to collaborate with existing suppliers, the resources they need will be unable to be provided), we must throw those ideas to the side. Since there is little information regarding the situation, we must go in open to all options, while maintaining respect for both new and traditional ways of conducting business and running restaurants. We must keep in mind the points highlighted at our orientation with the Learning Exchange regarding the DTES, including not be extractive and to really examine the assets of the community and find out how we can strengthen those. For example, in A Warm Meal and a Bed: Intersections of Housing and Food Security in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside<\/i>, Miewald et al. (2014), found that the inexpensive produce stands and restaurants of Chinatown were an important resource for the DTES community, particularly for sourcing affordable, fresh food. These assets should also be considered when studying the changing foodscape and socioeconomic profile of Chinatown. Finally, as we proceed with the interviews with current business owners we will do our best to \u201cshut up and listen\u201d (to yet again quote from Ernesto Sirolli\u2019s TED talk) – to be there for our interviewees and listen to the lived experiences and insights they have to offer us. <\/span><\/p>\nFor our project, we will also be contributing to a larger research project on social cohesion, conducted by Christina Lee.Christina is a hua foundation staff member who works on special projects. \u00a0We are placed in a unique position by contributing to this larger project, are stand alone\u00a0as many of the LFS projects are standalone,\u00a0<\/span>or will not be continued after the class is done. The Module on Capacity Building for Sustained Change<\/a> (University of Memphis) our team members participated in highlights the goals for community service learning to be \u201creciprocal and generative [in] nature\u201d as well as allow the community partner to \u201cincrease their own knowledge\u201d and \u201cexpand their own resources\u201d. We were required to complete it by LFS350 in order to identify how building upon the existing capacity of a community can be used to create sustained change. This places greater pressure on us to make sure we take into consideration the differing perspectives, as our work will contribute to the larger discourse surrounding social cohesion and resiliency in the Chinatown business network.<\/span><\/p>\nChinatown Green Grocer, Credit: Jimmy Hu<\/p><\/div>\n
Reflections on Lecture Content<\/strong><\/h2>\nDespite the differences in our group members\u2019 backgrounds and experiences, we are all able to appreciate the role of race in the power relations within the food system in B.C. Specifically, we found the course reading by Gibb and Wittman (2013) to be an interesting read, with many points of intersection with our project. Chinatown was first established as a means by white people in power to segregate and restrict Chinese immigrants (Dring, C., Lim, S. & M. Wilson, 2018); even then, the Chinese held on to their cultural assets, and developed a strong network of support and community for each other. That is a remarkable endeavour we as students in the modern day may not be able to imagine.<\/span><\/p>\nGibb and Wittman\u2019s study (2013) focused on the notion of \u201cparallel food systems\u201d – that is, a situation where two local food networks exist together but with \u201cfew points of intentional connection and collaboration\u201d (Gibb & Wittman, 2013). Our work with the hua foundation in Chinatown explores exactly that: the network of Chinese-owned stores and greengrocers supported by Chinese farmers, which seems to exist in parallel with the network of farmer\u2019s markets and food initiatives supported by the City of Vancouver. We have mentioned in our first blog post that we were appalled by the number of Chinese-owned greengrocers, butcher shops and fishmongers that had gone out of business in recent years. Seeing these key players in the local food network diminish while similar businesses in other areas continue to receive guidance and support programs from the City, really drives home the reality that the Chinatown food system is very distinct from the food system in the rest of Vancouver, and gets treated very differently too.<\/span><\/p>\nUpcoming Objectives and Strategies<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Strategies to Analyze the Results <\/b><\/p>\n
In order to analyze the interviews, we will compare their responses to our initial research questions:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- What are existing social and professional connections between food assets in Chinatown?<\/span><\/li>\n
- How can these connections be strengthened? <\/span><\/li>\n
- What are the major barriers for creating connections between food assets\/businesses in Chinatown? <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Each interview will be roughly transcribed (key sections) by one of the interviewers. The other interviewer will perform the analysis. In order to not overload those who are conducting more than one interview, a group member who was not present may perform either the analysis or transcription for one interview. \u00a0To analyze each interview, the transcription will be re-read to increase familiarity then the text will be labelled with recurring themes ie resources, diversity, suppliers. From this coding, larger themes will be drawn and defined. At the end of the analysis, the research questions will be answered and a short summary of other interesting findings will be provided. These individual analyses will be included as an appendix in our final report. \u00a0After each interview has been analyzed a meta-analysis will be conducted to identify overarching themes and what resources are needed. Future research questions will also be identified. <\/span><\/p>\nWe will also ask for all interviewees consent in order to publish their name and business name. Businesses are also welcome to stay anonymous. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/b>After all of this preparatory work, we are excited to dive in and see what sorts of responses we will get from our interviews. Will they match our current expectations? Will we uncover new information? How will this be valuable to the hua foundation and the Chinatown community as a whole? These are all questions we anticipate uncovering in the next few weeks!<\/p>\n
References<\/b><\/span><\/p>\nGibb, N., & Wittman, H. (2013). Parallel alternatives: Chinese-Canadian farmers and the Metro Vancouver local food movement. Local Environment, 18(1), 1\u201319.<\/span><\/p>\nMiewald, C. & Ostry, A. (2014) A Warm Meal and a Bed: Intersections of Housing and Food Security in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Housing Studies, 29(<\/em>6), 709-729, DOI: 10.1080\/02673037.2014.920769<\/span><\/p>\nMODULE: <\/span>Capacity Building for Sustained Change<\/span><\/a>. Engaged Scholarship. University of Memphis.<\/span><\/p>\nSirolli, E. (2012, August). Retrieved January 26, 2018, from <\/span>https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/ernesto_sirolli_want_to_help_someone_shut_up_and_listen<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of learning and growing moments, and significant progress has been made on our project! We’ve set a timeline of objectives for the remainder of the project, met with our community … Continue reading
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nOur interview with a member of a business association was a significant experience that alluded to some of the information we may uncover in our upcoming interviews. At our last community partner meeting, we conducted an impromptu group interview in order to find out what services the business association currently offers, as well as to get a feel for what services and resources they would be able to offer (if we were to recommend it). More importantly, we discovered some parallels to the struggles that currently exist between new and traditional businesses.\u00a0The division between the old and the young paralleled the division between some of the perceived divisions between the newer and older businesses, as there are fundamentally different ways of thinking about and addressing problems. They are the youngest member by far and having recently joined the association is bringing new ideas, values and ways of thinking that are not shared with the other members of the association.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This has great relevance to the interviews we will be conducting, and the potential gaps we may uncover. While there is intergenerational work being done in the area, there is still more to be done to bridge the different age groups. Furthermore, the culture clash from groups of various racial and ethnic backgrounds has brought about a more recent fragmented neighbourhood. Part of our job is to start to chip away at barriers and find ways to encourage social cohesion between businesses by laying the groundwork for more research in this area.<\/span><\/p>\n Although they expressed frustration about being only one out of nine members that felt passionate about spearheading environmental initiatives, he also pointed out the importance of respecting the older business\u2019 wisdom in order to move forward. When we contact these newer businesses, it is important to keep in mind that not all businesses may not be aware of these cultural values of elders\u2019 wisdom and understand the history of the community they are conducting business in. Thus, there are many complexities and nuances that businesses may not be prepared to navigate on their own. It is our job then to make sure our questions are unbiased in order to confirm or deny if these values exist beyond our own experiences and assumptions. <\/span><\/p>\n As we move forward into our interviews and analysis we should keep in mind the complexities of the relationships between businesses and different ways of thinking. Although it is easy to come in with preconceived ideas of what the situation will be like (ie. new businesses will automatically not want to collaborate with existing suppliers, the resources they need will be unable to be provided), we must throw those ideas to the side. Since there is little information regarding the situation, we must go in open to all options, while maintaining respect for both new and traditional ways of conducting business and running restaurants. We must keep in mind the points highlighted at our orientation with the Learning Exchange regarding the DTES, including not be extractive and to really examine the assets of the community and find out how we can strengthen those. For example, in A Warm Meal and a Bed: Intersections of Housing and Food Security in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside<\/i>, Miewald et al. (2014), found that the inexpensive produce stands and restaurants of Chinatown were an important resource for the DTES community, particularly for sourcing affordable, fresh food. These assets should also be considered when studying the changing foodscape and socioeconomic profile of Chinatown. Finally, as we proceed with the interviews with current business owners we will do our best to \u201cshut up and listen\u201d (to yet again quote from Ernesto Sirolli\u2019s TED talk) – to be there for our interviewees and listen to the lived experiences and insights they have to offer us. <\/span><\/p>\n For our project, we will also be contributing to a larger research project on social cohesion, conducted by Christina Lee.Christina is a hua foundation staff member who works on special projects. \u00a0We are placed in a unique position by contributing to this larger project, are stand alone\u00a0as many of the LFS projects are standalone,\u00a0<\/span>or will not be continued after the class is done. The Module on Capacity Building for Sustained Change<\/a> (University of Memphis) our team members participated in highlights the goals for community service learning to be \u201creciprocal and generative [in] nature\u201d as well as allow the community partner to \u201cincrease their own knowledge\u201d and \u201cexpand their own resources\u201d. We were required to complete it by LFS350 in order to identify how building upon the existing capacity of a community can be used to create sustained change. This places greater pressure on us to make sure we take into consideration the differing perspectives, as our work will contribute to the larger discourse surrounding social cohesion and resiliency in the Chinatown business network.<\/span><\/p>\n Chinatown Green Grocer, Credit: Jimmy Hu<\/p><\/div>\n Despite the differences in our group members\u2019 backgrounds and experiences, we are all able to appreciate the role of race in the power relations within the food system in B.C. Specifically, we found the course reading by Gibb and Wittman (2013) to be an interesting read, with many points of intersection with our project. Chinatown was first established as a means by white people in power to segregate and restrict Chinese immigrants (Dring, C., Lim, S. & M. Wilson, 2018); even then, the Chinese held on to their cultural assets, and developed a strong network of support and community for each other. That is a remarkable endeavour we as students in the modern day may not be able to imagine.<\/span><\/p>\n Gibb and Wittman\u2019s study (2013) focused on the notion of \u201cparallel food systems\u201d – that is, a situation where two local food networks exist together but with \u201cfew points of intentional connection and collaboration\u201d (Gibb & Wittman, 2013). Our work with the hua foundation in Chinatown explores exactly that: the network of Chinese-owned stores and greengrocers supported by Chinese farmers, which seems to exist in parallel with the network of farmer\u2019s markets and food initiatives supported by the City of Vancouver. We have mentioned in our first blog post that we were appalled by the number of Chinese-owned greengrocers, butcher shops and fishmongers that had gone out of business in recent years. Seeing these key players in the local food network diminish while similar businesses in other areas continue to receive guidance and support programs from the City, really drives home the reality that the Chinatown food system is very distinct from the food system in the rest of Vancouver, and gets treated very differently too.<\/span><\/p>\n Strategies to Analyze the Results <\/b><\/p>\n In order to analyze the interviews, we will compare their responses to our initial research questions:<\/span><\/p>\n Each interview will be roughly transcribed (key sections) by one of the interviewers. The other interviewer will perform the analysis. In order to not overload those who are conducting more than one interview, a group member who was not present may perform either the analysis or transcription for one interview. \u00a0To analyze each interview, the transcription will be re-read to increase familiarity then the text will be labelled with recurring themes ie resources, diversity, suppliers. From this coding, larger themes will be drawn and defined. At the end of the analysis, the research questions will be answered and a short summary of other interesting findings will be provided. These individual analyses will be included as an appendix in our final report. \u00a0After each interview has been analyzed a meta-analysis will be conducted to identify overarching themes and what resources are needed. Future research questions will also be identified. <\/span><\/p>\n We will also ask for all interviewees consent in order to publish their name and business name. Businesses are also welcome to stay anonymous. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/b>After all of this preparatory work, we are excited to dive in and see what sorts of responses we will get from our interviews. Will they match our current expectations? Will we uncover new information? How will this be valuable to the hua foundation and the Chinatown community as a whole? These are all questions we anticipate uncovering in the next few weeks!<\/p>\n References<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Gibb, N., & Wittman, H. (2013). Parallel alternatives: Chinese-Canadian farmers and the Metro Vancouver local food movement. Local Environment, 18(1), 1\u201319.<\/span><\/p>\n Miewald, C. & Ostry, A. (2014) A Warm Meal and a Bed: Intersections of Housing and Food Security in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Housing Studies, 29(<\/em>6), 709-729, DOI: 10.1080\/02673037.2014.920769<\/span><\/p>\n MODULE: <\/span>Capacity Building for Sustained Change<\/span><\/a>. Engaged Scholarship. University of Memphis.<\/span><\/p>\n Sirolli, E. (2012, August). Retrieved January 26, 2018, from <\/span>https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/ernesto_sirolli_want_to_help_someone_shut_up_and_listen<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of learning and growing moments, and significant progress has been made on our project! We’ve set a timeline of objectives for the remainder of the project, met with our community … Continue reading <\/h3>\n<\/h3>\nReflections on Lecture Content<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Upcoming Objectives and Strategies<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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