Blog Post 2 – Group 22

Ongoing Objectives

–      Prepare for focus group attendance: develop a sense of what to expect and what to look for at the two upcoming focus groups based on the past Community Food Circles in the Hastings Sunrise Community Food Network

–      Prepare materials for a Market Stand at the Vancouver Farmers Market in Hastings Sunrise on March 12 or 26 to hear from the community what kind of food programs they would be interested in.

Achievements

–     Attended feedback session on January 26 to formulate our questions around the Community Food Circles Project and write the proposal.

A Moment of Significance

What?

To date, the feedback session for the first stages of the Community Food Circles Project is still the most formative event of this project. On January 26th 2017, a feedback session held at the Hastings-Sunrise Community Centre was facilitated by Joanne, Benedetta, and Alex. The goal of this was for the service providers of the Community Food Network and those involved in the Community Food Circles project – facilitators and focus groups attendees – to provide their input in the development of recommendations for moving forward following the first six of eight focus groups. An interesting thing that took place was that with the attendants of the feedback session, including most of the facilitators and about 15 of the 44 focus group attendants, we began brainstorming solutions to address the many barriers to food that they expressed in the focus groups. One genre of solutions that resonated especially with the attendants were programs to facilitate access to discounted food, like collectively identifying coupons and flyer promotions, bulk buying, and recipe programming out of what is seasonally inexpensive.

So What?

The feedback session was a formative and important experience for our group because it allowed us to more deeply understand the structures of organization and decision making within the Food Circles Project. The feedback given at the meeting was a good baseline to discover the specific issues and what they are currently struggling with. That being said, the session mainly revolved around the “needs” of the community rather than focusing on community assets. We found that practicing asset-based community development is challenging when so much of the planning framework and language revolves around “barriers”, “issues”, and “needs” (Cunningham, 2003). There should be a balance between being aware of the issues within the community while also focusing energy towards strengthening community assets. For example, during the meeting we discussed ideas of recipe sharing and cooking lessons taught by folks in the community. This would allow community members to be empowered to share, create a more supportive community, while also addressing issues of food insecurity. Through the session, we were able to collect great suggestions for an implementable project in the future. The experience we had was crucial because it allowed us to get involved with the community directly and think critically about the way we are engaging in community development whether is be need-based or asset-based. After this experience, we have a more clear vision of our role in working with the Hasting-Sunrise Community Food Circles Project.

Now What?

Testing resonance for program strategies with the community members themselves was very effective. Using the information provided, working alongside Alex and Joanne we will now be able to implement a project as well as be involved in receiving more feedback from the community. This is what we will continue to do to produce meaningful strategies for the rest of the project.

Upcoming Objectives and Strategies

1)     Analyse the gaps and opportunities identified in the focus group sessions.

Strategy: To achieve this, we must build a narrative out of what emerges from this focus group session. In identifying what challenges and gaps are raised in this focus group that are shared in common with the other focus groups, we will be able to paint a more holistic image of what must be addressed.

2)     Identify one implementable project

Strategy: The previous step, in which we identify the needs of the community, will not be sufficient to determining what strategies are needed to address these. We will brainstorm some of these solutions to bring to our market stand in March and see if community members agree that these would be appropriate solutions. We must also do research to determine the feasibility of our implementable project proposal, whether this is a community garden, a seasonal recipe program based on bulk-purchased or discounted foods, or something else. Another opportunity to learn about the resources and opportunities in the community to support our proposed solutions is in the community engagement component of our project with the Hastings-Sunrise Community Food Network. In getting to know people and the assets in the community, perhaps we can also creatively develop ways to address the gaps and needs identified in the focus group sessions.

Resources:
Mathie, A., & Cunningham, G. (2003). From clients to citizens: Asset-based Community Development as a strategy for community-driven development. Development in Practice, 13(5), 474–486.