Defining Food Security at Food4You

Sorry, but I have to take a moment to just brag a little big about how lucky I am to have found my life’s passion (which, in case it wasn’t obvious, is food). Some people take over half their life to get to that place, while others may never actually encounter it. And I’m even luckier to be able to devote so much of my time pursuing that passion. I’ve just emerged from three full days of food conferences and I’m still smiling! Ok, well that’s a bit of a lie. Promptly after day 3 ended, I marched straight to the cafeteria downstairs and plunked my head on a table where it remained for about ten minutes. Eventually I mustered enough energy to pick myself up, dust myself off, and stumble off into the sunset.

But here I am, back and re-energized and ready to think food again!

There were actually two different conferences over the past three days. Sunday and Monday were devoted to exploring “Ontario’s Test Kitchens: Cooking up a Sustainable Food System for the 21st Century” which entailed a lot of deep thinking about the state of food security in the province, as well as the myriad agricultural and environmental challenges we face in the years ahead.

Tuesday I attended Food4You, an “un-conference” on food security for youth. It was un-conference-like since the agenda was dictated by participants and we all learned from each other. There, we explored definitions of food security and how all kinds of people may experience food insecurity (more than just a lack of income causes it). We also spent a lot of time brainstorming how we could take individual or community-based actions right now to address food insecurity we encountered. So in a way, I spent the last three days totally immersed in the challenges that lay ahead but also the solutions that have or could be realized.

Let’s start with the challenges. And there are lots. I’ll name a few:

• Social safety net spending is increasingly slashed and food banks, in part, are expected to pick up the slack but lack the necessary funding to do so
• Demand for food banks increasingly exceeds supply
• While there has been some reduction in the use of food banks as emergency food sources, nutrition is now more of a concern with more chronic supplementation provided by food banks

All this disparity in a world where, according to Wayne Roberts (the Director of the Toronto Food Policy Council) half of the food in the world is wasted! (I’m assuming this is counting food waste throughout the food system – not just what rots in our fridges or is scraped off our plates…but still!) Wayne always delivers a good punch in his speeches. Another staggering stat was that cities in Canada spend $1.5million/year land-filling food waste which is more than the budget for student nutrition programs! The divide between poverty and excess was deeper than I had thought.

The youth un-conference brought a really interesting perspective to the table as well: while everyone could name a favourite home-cooked dish during the initial icebreaker activities, it became apparent that many of the youth lacked the kitchen know-how to cook for themselves, and were content to consider chips or pizza a meal when home cookin’ wasn’t there for the eatin’. Even those with culinary knowledge like me were victims of food insecurity. With a full-time job and a busy after-work life, I often lack the time to cook a proper meal for myself and have been known to resort to cereal dinners and granola bars when I’m on the run. It’s shameful, I know. There should be a support group for slow foodies like me with these closet cereal addictions. It’ll be called the Secret Serial Cereal Snacking Society!

Despite the impending hurdles, I’m happy to report that there was an abundance of good news stories brought up at the conferences too. On more than one occasion I had the urge to jump out of my seat and shout “yes we can!” The mood was definitely Obama-esque at times!

What is so great about the food movement today is that it so easily lends itself to participation and citizenship. We can actively participate in changing the food system through involvement in our communities and through the practices we adopt in our daily lives. Food citizenship is turning conventional notions of activism on its head: according to Wayne, it’s more than activism – it’s “actionism.” Instead of demonstration protests, food lends itself to demonstration projects. And everyone likes a fun, engaging, and more than likely tasty, project right? I know I sure do. And I’m determined not to let illusions of impending global doom deter me.

Youth at the Food4You un-conference

In my pocket today I found a yellow piece of folded paper on which I had written a personal commitment taken yesterday at the Food4You un-conference. Our task had been to write one action we could take to address a food security challenge in our lives or communities. Mine is to start sharing my cooking knowledge with those who feel they lack the skills to prepare food for themselves. If an army marches on its stomach, I figured this was a good place to start.

So I’m putting it out into the world! Does a lack of cooking know-how drive you to Twinkies and take-out? Want to learn the basics of cooking? Know someone else who might be interested? Are you in Toronto? Email me! Let’s do this!

In 1930, Gandhi rallied Indians to take control of their salt production as a means to claim ownership over their country. Today our task is much the same: we must we rally each other to take ownership over our food system as a means to reclaim our rights as citizens. Citizens who have a right to adequate, available, accessible and acceptable food.