Ksenia Stepkina
VFR: Ksenia, tell us about yourself and the food programs and projects you’re currently involved with in Vancouver, and why you were drawn to this area of work.
Ksenia Stepkina: I am passionate about community and social change and believe in the power of people coming together to make change happen. I work as a Community Food Developer with Kitsilano Neighbourhood House, coordinating the collective impact effort of the Westside Food Collaborative towards a just and sustainable food system in the Westside. I am also actively involved in the Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks – the network of networks that brings together place-based food justice efforts across the City of Vancouver. And finally, I am embarking on my master’s thesis at the University of Victoria, focused on…you guessed it: food and community – namely, centering equity in food justice community efforts in Vancouver.
I have long been preoccupied with the complex, systemic issues facing our society today. From the housing crisis to climate change, these big, wicked problems are deep-rooted and feel insurmountable – it is easy to lose hope. Yet, I am a strong believer that change is possible and starts in our neighbourhoods and communities, where people (and organizations) come together to pursue a common vision. I am particularly fascinated by food as a policy area because it is SUCH an intersectional issue that touches on reconciliation (food sovereignty), equity (food security), and resilience (food sustainability). Food affects everyone! By addressing food systems issues, I believe, we can have a profound impact on a number of complex issues — and the change can quite literally start in one’s own backyard: whether by growing your own food, hosting a community meal, or advocating for local policy change.
VFR: Please share about the history and mandate of the Westside Food Collaborative.
KS: Westside Food Collaborative (WFC) was formed in 2006, when a number of service providers noticed that food insecurity concerns were on the rise in the community and decided to collaborate on this issue. Throughout the years and several staff transitions, WFC became the neighbourhood food network that it is today, bringing together non-profit organizations, grassroots groups, and community members with lived experience in a collaborative effort towards the vision of a food secure neighbourhood. The collaborative is a learning and action-based network: members come together to learn and share, build collective capacity, and form a unified voice and a united front. The most rewarding part of my work is seeing the connections made and the partnerships formed that help strengthen the impact of food security efforts, which, once again, reaffirms my belief in the power of coming together.
VFR: The Westside of Vancouver is regarded as an affluent set of neighbourhoods, but what are some of the issues you’re seeing with respect to food security on the Westside? What are some of the specific challenges in these neighbourhoods?
KS: This is a GREAT question! It is precisely because the Westside of Vancouver (which includes Kitsilano, Shaughnessy, West Point Grey, Kerrisdale, and Dunbar) is regarded as an affluent set of neighbourhoods, food security needs in the Westside are described as ‘hidden’. This inaccurate perception leads to gaps in food programs as well as a greater degree of social stigma in accessing the limited supports that do exist. Community organizations providing these essential food programs are operating at full capacity and are stretched to the limit. Due to COVID, the demand for food programs has doubled! In such circumstances, collaboration and the big-picture view of the issue inevitably make way for keeping up with “getting through the day” by meeting the ever-increasing immediate food security needs of the community. That is why intentional effort to bring everyone together to begin to envision an alternative future is so critical.
VFR: The Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks (VNFN) – which the Westside Food Collaborative is a part of – has a distributed approach to food equity and access, and the VNFN focuses on education, community, and advocacy. How does this approach compare to the traditional food bank model?
KS: Food banks are so important to provide temporary relief to the most acute food security needs. I was accessing food banks as a newcomer to Canada, and I am so grateful! BUT! Food banks are NOT the solution to food security. They were initially introduced as a temporary relief measure in Canada in the 1980’s as a response to the economic recession, but, coupled with weakened social assistance programs, they soon became the primary public response to food insecurity, receiving continuous support by policymakers and funders. However, the pounds of food distributed is a misleading measure of food security.
The dominant charity-based approach is deeply rooted in a Western, colonial, neoliberal worldview of scarcity and individualism. Food security is viewed as an individual’s problem, while the individual is seen as a client and passive recipient. This approach tends to view the issue of food security as a problem, which can simply be solved by providing food. Yet, such a view fails to recognize food security as embedded in a web of systemic issues associated with poverty, and it ignores the systemic social, economic, and institutional factors, such as income inequality and the rising cost of living that affect food security metrics. Food insecurity then, can be more accurately described as a poverty and power problem, and it becomes apparent that food banks are not the sole solution.
Of course, systemic change does not happen overnight, and emergency food supports ARE necessary in the short term. Alternatively, we must also recognize food security as a complex, systemic issue that requires a coordinated approach to bring about change. Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks (VNFN) pursues the vision of a sustainable, resilient, connected, culturally appropriate food system in Vancouver that is grounded in the principles of justice, sovereignty, and equity. While many neighbourhood food networks are still actively responding to ongoing food insecurity through food distribution, we work hard to ensure that it is rooted in place and community care to provide fresh, healthy, comforting, and familiar food to community members who are struggling to access food. In addition to food distribution, member networks engage in place-based and community capacity building efforts, including community food markets, neighbourhood gardens, community kitchens, and food literacy workshops. These grassroots initiatives help build relationships and trust, strengthen social capital, and empower individuals and communities.
To address food security in the long term, VNFN is actively engaged in systems change work. A number of member networks (Westside Food Collaborative is one of them!) are analyzing the systemic issues that serve as barriers to long-term solutions to food insecurity in their communities. Importantly, VNFN is actively engaging community members who are most impacted by the issue of food insecurity: they are context experts who have invaluable firsthand knowledge and lived experience and must be actively involved in the process of identifying their own needs and co-developing solutions. By centering equity and magnifying the voices of diverse communities (for example, through Community Advisory Committees), VNFN aims to disrupt the existing power imbalances and pave the way to meaningful change.
Policy advocacy is another pillar of VNFN’s systems change work. While neighbourhood-based food development efforts and equity-focused community engagement are critical in strengthening local food systems, we are operating within a policy environment that sets the rules of the game. Oftentimes, we take them as given, yet we forget that we are capable of rewriting them by influencing policy through advocacy efforts! VNFN is engaged in policy advocacy that supports food justice, from basic income and other income supports on the federal level to protecting cultural food assets on the municipal level.
VFR: Along with the VFR team, you’re currently involved with planning the upcoming Food Justice Town Hall – a virtual event being held on Sept. 27th. Please tell us more about this event.
KS: Yes! The upcoming Food Justice Town Hall on September 27th is the great example of policy advocacy in action. VNFN is excited to collaborate with the leading food justice organizations in Vancouver, including VFR, to highlight the importance of food policy to the public and the policymakers. We realized that food justice, as an issue, is not fully understood (the proliferation of the food bank model is the case in point), and food policy is not given its due importance in the eyes of the local policymakers.
That is why, ahead of the Vancouver municipal election on October 15th, we decided to organize an event to educate the public and policymakers on the issue of food justice in Vancouver and policy options to address this. We are beyond excited about the speaker line-up, which includes community leaders, food policy researchers, and people with lived experience of food insecurity – each bringing a unique and valuable perspective to the conversation. The speaker presentations will be followed by a community dialogue portion. The event is free and open to the public, and all municipal candidates have been invited to attend.
VFR: As the long summer days are winding down, what are you looking forward to this fall, Ksenia?
I am excited to dive into my equity-focused community-based research. They say graduate research is quite a journey, but I really look forward to it! And, of course, I will be sure to make the most of the stunning fall season in Vancouver — neighbourhood walks with my partner and our dog are my favourite!
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