21 – Richmond Food Asset Map: Growing Food and Community Kitchen Updates

Organization Information

Organization Name

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)

Mission and Vision of Organization

Our Mission

• We are committed to supporting healthy lives in healthy communities with our partners through care, education and research.

Our Vision

• We will be leaders in promoting wellness and ensuring care by focusing on quality and innovation.

Guiding Principles + Values

Our Strategic Framework: Putting People First.

Our people first strategy shapes how we approach our vision, mission, values and goals.

Our VCH strategic priorities is a guiding framework for operational planning, priority setting, and identifying opportunities for strategic investment of time, people and financial resources.

Our Values:

• Service: We will provide outstanding service and respond to needs in a timely and innovative manner
• Integrity: We will serve openly and honestly in a caring and compassionate environment
• Sustainability: We will focus on effectiveness, efficiency, best practices and health outcomes, holding ourselves responsible for results

Contact Information

• Primary Contact Person(s): Anne Swann, MS, RD
• Email: anne.swann@vch.ca
• Address: Richmond Public Health, 8100 Granville Avenue, Richmond, BC V6Y 3T6
• Phone: 604-233-3103
• Website: http://www.vch.ca/public-health/nutrition
• Best time(s) method(s) to contact: Monday – Friday, e-mail or phone

Project Information

Project Description

This project is intended to gather information about community food assets across the city of Richmond. This information is being used to create a Richmond Food Asset Google map. Vancouver Coastal Health Public Health dietitians are working with community partners to create the mapping tool. Key end users of the map will include: community members seeking food assets, service providers, community developers, and promoters of food assets.

Students will be involved in gathering information on the following food assets in Richmond:

• Programs and Education, plus updating existing Urban Farms and Community Kitchen Programs information
• Definitions:

1. Garden Programs and Education are programs that provide demonstration gardening and other environmental education programs.
2. Urban farms are defined as farms that grow food in an urban area for sale and / or profit.
3. Community Kitchen Programs are a group of individuals led by a facilitator, who meet regularly to cook meals.

The key student deliverables include:

• Gather information on the above mentioned food assets in the city of Richmond. Update an Excel document of the above food asset categories. This part of the project will most likely involve contacting key community partners, organizations and businesses and researching information online to ensure that the information in the excel document is correct and formatted consistently. A discussion script, including an introduction to the tool and guiding questions, will be provided to UBC students for them to use when contacting food assets. Students will also be provided with instructions on how to add data and update the excel document.
• Interview interested VCH Staff or community members and organizations to trial the Richmond Food Asset Map tool and gather their feedback. Feedback forms will be given to students to interview interested staff or community members when gathering feedback.

Write a summary of feedback received from these Richmond community partners. Provide recommendations for next steps of the project, based on both the overall map and specific food asset category assigned. (Feedback and recommendations will hopefully be used to assist Vancouver Coastal Health and future LFS 350 students to improve the mapping process and tool).

Project Goal

This project focus is the development of a Richmond Food Asset Map and has 3 main goals.

• To provide a current, dynamic and easy to use tool for community members and agencies to locate community food assets.
• To increase awareness of Garden Programs and Education, Urban Farms and Community Kitchen Programs in Richmond. These food assets are useful and empowering to residents through increasing access to freshly grown produce and knowledge as to how food is produced and prepared.
• To make it easier for Richmond community partners and advocates to view and determine food asset gaps in the community.

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

• Good verbal communication and interviewing skills (you have an interest in speaking with members of Richmond community and healthcare professionals). Comfortable in communicating with people over the phone and in person.
• Good written communication skills (you will be contacting people overseeing various Richmond food assets by email as well as by phone)
• Good computer skills and proficient in working with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (you will be using Google Maps and Microsoft programs)
• Data collecting skills (you will be obtaining current, accurate and consistent information using a variety of approaches possibly including internet searches, phone calls, email, and in-person)

Student Assets and Skills (to be developed)

• Observation skills, as you will have an opportunity to learn through volunteering with us or other community organizations.C

Criminal record check required?

• Not required

Project Location

Location will vary based on where the food assets are located. Some work can be done over the phone or computer, whereas other work will involve visiting locations in Richmond (all locations are expected to be accessible to the public and by transit.

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

Timing is flexible. Students may need to work during business hours in order to contact some farm owners or community partners. However, most of the work can be organized to fit the student’s schedule.

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

• In-person orientation: January 16 / 2-3 pm, Richmond Public Health, Room 906, 8100 Granville Avenue, Richmond
• Review the relevant Fall 2018 LFS350 student Infographics here and here for additional project context
• Request the relevant Fall 2018 LFS350 student reports from your TA for additional project context
• Sample Web page for Richmond Food Asset Map

Relevant Articles:

• Community Food Assessment Guide by Sue Ross and Zena Simces for the Provincial Health Services Authority, March 2008
• Healthy Built Environment Linkages Toolkit Summary, March 2018
• Richmond Wellness Strategy, 2018 – 2023. Please read the Executive Summary, pages 1-6.

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

Perhaps, an opportunity to volunteer with VCH staff or community service organizations.