Author Archives: Hattaw Khalid

I'm a 3rd year GRS student specializing in Global Health and Nutrition in the Middle East. I was born in Baghdad, and grew up between Coquitlam and Abu Dhabi. I had originally came to UBC to enrol into the Dietetics program than soon realized that my true passion lies in developmental aid and health. I hope to one day be able to help improve aid policies and create more awareness on the importance of healthy eating and community nutrition in developing and developed countries in the ME.

Mirrors; Hattaw’s Reflection

Looking back at LFS 250, unlike most people I’ve talked to,  I loved that course! I made some lifetime friends; my breakout room members and I went to dinner together a lot (almost all 30 of us!) and I gained a lot of hands on experience. I was hoping this year would be even more amazing but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

I’m not sure why but the sense of community wasn’t there. I believe that it dependents on which project and community partner you get to work with, and I think that’s what made the difference for me.

For next year, I recommend that community partners be clear on the projects they provide. In my case, our community partner said that they provided a describtion of a project they didn’t need just because it was required that community partners provide a quick summery of the CBEL project. Because we based our choices on the description that was provided, we ended up working on something we weren’t interested or invested in. It wasn’t hands on nor did we get to work with the community that much. Either way, none of my group members got any of their top 3 choices for the CBEL projects.

All in all, it was a great opportunity to learn that you don’t always get what you want but regardless of that you should give it your all because your community partner and your team members are all depending on you and your group dynamic.

-H

November 25, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

TA Q&A: Rachel Gutman

As we reach the end of this academic term we start to wonder where has all the scheduling and planning and promises to stay on top on our work gone. We’ve all taken at least one LFS course before, and by this time we know our way around our piling towers of essays and papers. But encouragement is always needed, so here’s a Q&A I got to do with my homeroom TA, Rachel Gutman. Rachel was once an LFS350 student herself, now she gets to sit in the first row on the left-side of our lectures with all the other TAs and gets to mark our awesome reflections and papers.

Thanks for your supportive feedback Rachel!

And to everyone else, hold on, the end is near. The end of the term that is.

-H

Q&A

Q: What is your educational background?

A: I am in my final semester of my BSc in Global Resource Systems where I have focused on Food and Resource economics. Before UBC, I spent two years at Uvic studying biology. Over the course of my degree I’ve taken courses at 4 Universities!
When did you take LFS 350
I took LFS 350 in the fall 2011 semester

Q: What made you want to TA LFS 350?

A: Many reasons. Last year I worked at a local high school mentoring a garden club. There, I realized how much I enjoyed teaching and thought helping LFS students through their projects would be a meaningful experience. Also, I’m planning on going to graduate school in the next few years and thought that TA-ing as an undergrad would give me a leg up when applying.

Q: What is it like TA-ing LFS courses?

A: This is the first class I’ve ever been a TA for so I don’t have anything to compare it to! But I’d imagine you have the opportunity to interact more with your students. In the LFC series, there is a lot of time spent in homeroom and I get to interact with all my students every class. As a TA, it’s really wonderful to get to know everyone and their projects.

Q: What advise do you have for students from your past experience as a student?

A: Keep in touch with your community partners! The most valuable thing I’ve gained from the LFC series and CBEL projects are the connections I’ve made with my community partners. My community partner in LFS 250 was the Environmental Youth Alliance. Through this connection I was able to get an internship with their Growing Kids program the following year.

Q: What advise do you have for students from a TA perspective?

A: Take time to critically reflect on the skills you’ve gained through your projects, many of these are transferable to the work place. Community mapping, survey building, interviewing, soil sampling- all these things can go on a CV! Even if your project did not go as well as you hoped, being able to work effectively in-group settings is an invaluable skill to have.

November 22, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Group 27: Harsh Winter Winds – Follow up with Bridget Kirkland

Group 27 assembling cold frames with students

I got a chance to sit down with Bridget Kirkland to speak to her about the experiences and the execution of their project. Group 27 had to build cold frames and create a crop rotation plan for Tyee Elementary School. They needed to create a survey in order to proceed with their projects so, two members were delegated to crop rotation plans, two were delegated to the cold fames and three members conducted the survey.

In order to put together the cold frames, 3 individuals went shopping for supplies at Home Depo. Unfortunately they faced a few set backs such as sold out inventory, limited services at Home Depo and the fact that the cold frames were too large to fit into the car. They were able to resolve these problems very quickly by cutting up the frames into smaller, reassembled sections. Two pre-assembly sessions were held within the team to ensure that all members knew how to put together the cold frames.

Two different models of cold frames for school garden

November 7th rolled around and group 27 headed to Tyee Elementary School to demonstrate the construction of the cold frames with students in grade 6. Two different models were presented and Tyee has the choice between which frame they prefer after the winter months have passed. Each of the frames had different advantages. The hood house (arched frame) allows more sunlight and gives the plants more space to grow, whereas the shorter one protects more from strong winds. We will just have to wait and see which frame Tyee Elementary School picks.

-H

November 21, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Group 5: Right to Food Interviews

“Out of sight, out of mind.” We sometimes get carried away with our own lives, trying to make ends meet, that we don’t stop to think of other people in our city that may be living hand-to-mouth. Through group 5’s effort to collect as much information as possible from individuals living in poverty in the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, we are able to gain a greater perspective on their thoughts and reflections about the prices of living and food in Vancouver. The group was able to interview 17 individuals based on a standardized survey that they had created (scroll down for survey questions). In order to collect all this information, consent forms had to be given and the surveys were taken verbally and recorded for later transcription due to the language barrier.

Most of these individuals were older adults that are living on welfare. Some limitations that the group reported was the fact that it was a bias group of individuals that wanted to participate and although it was a plus having a multicultural group, it also provided language barriers. The group reported feeling that many individuals seemed interested in participating but may have not been confident in their English skills.

This project was overall worthwhile for group 5, they truly appreciated this opportunity that they received to learn and pilot this discussion that they feel needs to be had more often in our communities. They hope that this data collection could potentially spring on a policy change.

Being university students ourselves, this is a voice that we don’t generally get a chance to hear because we are so privileged to be given the opportunity to attend UBC. We, as LFS students, talk about food security and sovereignty on a daily bases but not very many of us know what it’s like to be living in such harsh situations. For this reason some individuals of group 5 decided to take on the $26 Welfare Challenge. Stick around to hear more about this challenge with a one-on-one interview with Etienne Nemanishen.

 

RIGHT TO FOOD SURVEY

  1. How many hours (on average) do you spend waiting in line every week?
  2. What would you be doing with your time if you weren’t standing in line?
  3. How many food lines do you stand in per week?
  4. What is one word that you would use to describe your experience in free-food line-ups?
  5. How many free meals do receive per week?
  6. Where do you obtain your free food?
  7. Are you satisfied with the free food that you receive?
  8. How many meals are you able to pay for per week?
  9. Where do you purchase your food?
  10. What sort of kitchen facilities do you currently have access to?
  11. What would you be able to cook if had improved facilities?
  12. What types of food make up the majority of your diet?
  13. Do you consider the nutritional values/origin of your food when making decisions regarding what to eat?
  14. Has your income changed your relationship to food in any way? If so, how?
  15. If welfare rates are increased, how would this affect the type and amount of food that you eat now?
  16. If welfare rates are increased, what would you be able to do that you are not able to do now?
  17. Is there anything further that you would like to say and/or comment on?
November 19, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Group 9: Village Vancouver Transition Society

As it is my job to bring the various projects in LFS together and create that network and sense of connectivity, it is also group 9’s job to connect the various projects in Village Vancouver. Village Vancouver is part of a global movement called Transition Town aimed to reducing foil fuels, so everything is as local as it could get. These projects are situated in Kitsilano. Anybody is welcome to join these initiatives because anyone can make a difference. As witnessed by group 9, everyone seems to have different expertise in different things but they are all pieces of a greater puzzle that pieces together. “A lot of the people seemed really talented, which is amazing” as one of the members expressed to me their admiration for the interactions amongst the individuals that are involved.

Some of these individual projects and initiatives include community gardens, farmers markets and community pot locks. The involvement within these projects is extremely diversified; people of all ages, all ethnicities and demographics are involved.

But group 9 did face some unforeseen limitations that they believe may have hindered the effectiveness of their project. Some members felt that they were not given enough time to connect to the community, to feel a part of the community. And others felt that the community partners needed to be committed to working with the groups. Many groups faced communication difficulties and hopefully that will be improved for all LFS 350 projects next year.

-H

November 19, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Welfare Challenge with Etienne Nemanishen

Last week I had the opportunity to sit down with Etienne Nemanishen and discuss how the welfare challenge that she partook in went. The welfare challenge is an activity that some members of group 5 decided to take on based on the fact that an average person on welfare only receives $26 a week for food. Etienne is a Nutritional Science major and based on her educational background she said that it was hard for her to meet her nutritional requirements for the week because she was not able to purchase as many fruits and vegetables as she hopped she would. She was only able to purchase a day’s worth of fruits and vegetables, which she consumed over the course of a week.  All of her shopping was done at No Frills because it was the only thing she could afford.

Part of the challenge was to not add salt, spices and herbs unless you bought them with the $26 and to not accept free food from others. “It’s impossible to live on welfare without accepting free food” she said. She reported that she felt unsatisfied throughout the week and pointed out that if she did not like the food that she had cooked she didn’t have the luxury of making a new meal or freezing it for later, she had to eat what she made otherwise she would go hungry for the day. Other limitations and restrictions that she faced were no alcohol, coffee or eating out. But it was worth it as she got to challenge herself and gain the human experience.

The biggest hurdle that she faced was the low calorie intake and having little energy to get her through the day. “My friends would see how tired I looked and would offer to buy me food but I couldn’t accept.” Etienne’s productivity with schoolwork was hindered; she was tired most of the day and could not concentrate.

Now that you know your fellow classmates have taken the initiative to live in someone else’s shoes, will you?

-H

November 19, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Group 26: Fundraising Booklet

Remember hot lunches in elementary school? Hot dogs sales, pizza sales and lots of other delicious junk food that our parents didn’t pack for us but our schools treated us to once in a while. Well contrary to popular belief schools did not have those because they think we’re special students, they’re held to raise money for the school and various activities.

At Sexsmith Community School, they have recognized that fundraising can be done in ways that are beneficial to students and potentially educational and so they have asked group 26 to help them create a healthy fundraising booklet. The school has two parties that require funding, the PAC and the Green team. The Parent Advisory Committee needs $25,000 to buy a new adventure playground of their new school and the Green team wants to buy new garden beds to be used as outdoor classrooms. So group 26 has went ahead and prepared a booklet with multiple ideas, ranging from raffle baskets, breakfast with parents and a walking-bus. This booklet should provide teachers and parents with ideas that are reusable and profitable.

What was your favorite school fundraiser?

-H

November 19, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Independent Interview: Tea with Raisa

We were sitting down over some granola bars in Agora when Raisa Ramdeen began to tell me about her group project for LFS 350. She is in group 27 working on one of the many Think&EatGreen@School projects, this one specifically located at Tyee Elementary School. The objective of their project is garden management planning, which will include creating cold frames and a mini crop rotation plan. A cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure that protects garden beds in the winter from the harsh weather but still allows sunlight to be admitted through the transparent roof. Cold frames help extend the growing season; this will help extend the outdoor learning experience for students at Tyee Elementary. There are currently 8 beds at the school, one for each division.

As we continued to sip on warm cups of green tea Raisa shared with me her enthusiasm for the work that herself and her group will be doing next Wednesday, November 7th. They will complete their work by assembling the cold frames with the students. “We are enjoying our project as we get to gain experience in school garden planning and apply concepts which we have learned in the LFS course series” she said. Are you excited to find out what will be growing at Tyee Elementary? Hopefully lots of fresh greens that will inspire the students to think and eat GREEN at school!

-H

November 4, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Group 7: Quest Food Exchange

Quest food exchange has been around for 23 years, serving the community with low-cost groceries for individuals that find it hard to make ends meet. Individuals who are on financial aid or welfare are eligible to receive memberships or vouchers for Quest purchases. They have 3 different locations in the lower mainland, two in Vancouver and one in Surrey. Quest food exchange’s main goal is to reduce waste and provide low-cost groceries at their markets and by delivering raw food materials to agencies for their own meal programs. Volunteering opportunities are available for individuals who wish to give back to the community and receiving low-cost food at the same time. For every 4 hours of volunteer work, volunteers receive a $13 voucher to spend at Quest markets. But training these individuals is costly and takes up a lot of time, especially when volunteers flake out. This is where group 7 comes in; they are creating a volunteer manual for Quest food exchange to cut down on training time and funding. This will be a take home manual, which will include all the instructions and tools required for volunteers who wish to work at Quest food exchange.  Quest has requested that it be a simple and straightforward instruction manual because most volunteers are refugees that may or may not have the adequate language and/or computer skills.

-H

November 4, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Group 23: The Story Of Bread

The food system is a frequently used term in dialogs and discussions about health, food, nutrition and the community.  It includes all processes used to feed a population. This is what group 23 has done with the story of bread; using bread as the study case to demonstrate the infrastructure involved in the food system. Two workshops have been conducted at Tyee Elementary School for 6th and 7th grade students and a third will be facilitated within the next two weeks to complete this Think&Eat@School project. Students were introduced to the story of bread, grain production and how it’s farmed, harvested and made through 5 different activities. These activities included milling, nutrition fact tables and different grains. Part of group 23’s approach and methods of collecting qualitative feedback about these workshops is allocating time for students to create mind maps in groups.  Group 23 reported that most students knew a lot more than expected about the food systems but a certain group of students had some feedback that was different from all other groups in the 6th and 7th grade at Tyee elementary school. When asked what food means to them, this group responded with names of fast food chains and other unhealthy food choices. It is interesting to see how some students group together, and perhaps report answers that may not be true to themselves due to the sense of belonging (i.e. peer pressure) to fit in with their group mates. Hopefully this will change by the end of the third workshop, where they will all participate in preparing bread with group 23. What type of bread will they be preparing? You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out.

-H

November 4, 2012Permalink Leave a comment