Ian Marcuse
VFR: Ian, tell us about yourself and your journey with respect to food programming in Vancouver as well as the broader food movement.
Ian Marcuse: First off, much gratitude to all the food systems workers and activists out there. So, a little about me: I am a second-generation settler of Jewish, Welsh, and English ancestry. Born here in so-called 'Vancouver,' I have had the privilege of working in the community food sector for the past 16 years. First, as the coordinator of the Grandview Woodland Food Connection out of Britannia Community Centre for 14 years, and now I am currently working as the coordinator for the city-wide Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks for the past two years.
I came to this work through my many years of environmental activism, my experience in social services, and, most importantly, my passion for grassroots community building. While my education in urban planning primarily focused on housing issues, I jumped on the opportunity when I saw the job posted with the Grandview Woodland Food Connection. This was partly because the position was located in the Grandview Woodland/Commercial Drive area, a community which I know well and love, since I have lived there for 36 years now.
VFR: Please share about the critical work of the Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks (VNFNs): its history, mission, principles, and some of the key programs/activities under the umbrella of the VNFNs.
IM: I love the Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Network (VNFN) model. I believe that this decentralized, place-based network model is unique in North America, as I have not come across anything similar. Vancouver is comprised of 22 official neighborhoods, and our goal is to establish a network in each of these neighborhoods. Currently, we have 15 established networks!
This model is critically important in one big way: it enables us to cultivate meaningful community relationships, allowing us to respond appropriately to diverse community food needs and desires. Another great characteristic is that each network operates out of either a community center or a Neighbourhood House, which serves as a central neighbourhood gathering space. Food networks are deeply intertwined with the community.
VNFNs are dedicated to promoting food equity and access, education, skill-building, and advocacy, especially for community members facing economic challenges. This work is based on the principle that every member of society has the right to access quality food. The VNFNs collectively offer a platform for collaboration, the sharing of best practices, and advocacy for food equity, justice, ecologically, and culturally sustainable food systems, and community food resilience — all under a unified voice.
Our work spans the food security continuum, ranging from basic food provision, such as community markets and bulk food distribution programs, to community development, skill-building, and educational work, like school gardening, community kitchens, and food workshops. We also engage in advocacy and systems change efforts, collaborating with hundreds of community partners.
VFR: At VFR, we are proud to partner with the VNFNs and support the networks involved – so far this year, VFR volunteers have made 360+ deliveries totalling 48,000+ pounds of food to VNFN organizations. Building on this idea of partnerships, share more about the importance of a highly collaborative and decentralized approach to advancing food justice in Vancouver – one that goes beyond food charity!
IM: Yes, we are grateful to receive food from VFR that supports a range of VNFN food programs. In fact, as grassroots, largely underfunded networks, we very much rely on partnerships to leverage our impact. Vancouver is great for this with so many food groups working collaboratively.
I especially like that this recovered food is going to support so many organizations that distribute and serve food in a way that builds social connection, health, and upholds dignity. For example, programs such as community lunches and feasts, community markets, community kitchens, and skill building workshops, versus the traditional food bank / soup kitchen form of food distribution.
Yes, it would be great to see food recovery and charity efforts radically reimagined.
First off, the growth of the charity model as we are seeing it in the global expansion of food banking erodes a human rights-based approach to solving food insecurity, whereas a rights-based approach can legally guarantee dignified access to food. I especially like this United Nations definition of food rights: “The right to food is not a right to be fed, but primarily the right to feed oneself in dignity. Individuals are expected to meet their own needs, through their own efforts and using their own resources.” This includes income-based solutions that put more money in people’s pockets and proper program resourcing. This would put food banks out of business, as we want.
I would also like to see a shift in public perception and organizational shifts that eliminate the two-tier food system, where low-income community members get rescued food while others enjoy fresh, often higher quality food. Recovered food should be accepted by everyone as a desirable choice! For example, directing recovered food to programs like the free “Restaurantes Populares” (Portuguese term for soup kitchens) or people’s restaurants that grew out of Brazil’s efforts to address food inequity. We could create our own version of community restaurants with high-quality, great tasting, recovered food where everyone would want to eat, regardless of class background.
I envision these restaurants would be based on a pay-what-you-can model to keep food affordable for all. Or how about a fleet of tasty food trucks using recovered food to keep food costs low, but no one would necessarily know it was food recovery? Again, it is simply affordable food for all. I know that some of this is already happening with some Vancouver chefs incorporating recovered food in mainstream menus.
VFR: With the rising cost of living (housing, food, childcare, transportation), food security is front and centre as a central issue. What are some of the key issues you’re seeing at the community level right now?
IM: Food inflation as well as COVID has really crystalized our thinking around the need to step up our systems change work. The capitalist and commodified nature of our food system is not working for many of us and this extends beyond just low-income individuals. Access to nutritional food should be a human right, ensuring healthy food is available and affordable to all.
Currently, all our food programs are operating at maximum capacity, with growing waitlists for most of our basic food provision-type programs. Food inflation is one thing, but it often is overshadowed by the ongoing housing crisis, which is even more dire. Every day, we hear stories about people struggling to find affordable housing. If they cannot pay for rent, it is likely that they also will not be able to afford to eat well.
I have a friend who is a single mom of four children, and she's currently experiencing overwhelming stress. The only housing option she can afford is located in the Fraser Valley. Unfortunately, the property is an unkempt farmworker house with arsenic-contaminated water and severe black mold issues on the walls. To make matters worse, her landlords are unprofessional, and she's constantly dealing with the uncertainty of potential evictions. Because my friend lives out in the middle of nowhere, she has to walk long distances to get a bus, where she has to transit long distances to reach a food store or a food charity program. She is in constant survival mode and often skips her meals, so that she can feed her kids. She is caught in what is called the poverty trap.
But finally, we are openly discussing these food-related issues, unlike any other time that I know of. This presents a crucial opportunity to engage the community and become politically active. We must raise our voices against these injustices.
VFR: The VNFNs, along with 24+ organizations, have been involved with the newly formed Vancouver Food Justice Coalition. Please tell us about how the Coalition emerged and some of its objectives and recent activities?
IM: What we are seeing is that while our community development efforts are building community, and improving people’s well-being, they are simply not solving the global, more harmful food systems problems. Food insecurity rates remain persistently high, the climate emergency is worsening, brining in fears of food shortages, and diet-related illnesses, etc. Many of us working in the community food sector have long been asking whether our current food systems policies and funding align with the current realities in our communities and globally.
A recent analysis of City of Vancouver operating and capital budgets revealed very low percentages of overall City food systems funding. Unfortunately, food security and food justice remain a low priority for our city decision-makers. To address this issue, we are engaging in some basic food systems education for elected officials as some starting work.
More broadly, the Vancouver Food Justice Coalition is dedicated to organizing efforts to build more effective, community-driven, collaborative, and cross-sectoral organizational structures and processes throughout the Vancouver region. These structures will support participatory food systems and justice policy advocacy, led by community knowledge. Essentially, our goal is to build our political power to meet government and corporate power. It is time to demand a more radical food systems change that is based on decolonization, justice, and right to food legislation.
VFR: If organizations or individuals are interested in getting involved with the Vancouver Food Justice Coalition (VFJC), what are the next steps?
IM: We are always looking for people to join us in building our collective voice and mobilizing efforts. Whether you are part of an organization, or a passionate individual, there are lots of ideas and initiatives that people can do to support real change.
Like Margaret Mead’s famous quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
To get involved, email VFJC at vanfoodjustice@gmail.com
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