4. Richmond Food Bank: Culturally Appropriate and Nutritionally Adequate Food Assessment

Overview

Project Title

Is Richmond Food Bank Society providing culturally appropriate and nutritionally adequate food? Follow-up study

Organization Name

Richmond Food Bank Society

Keywords

Related Course Concepts

Food justice, Food security, Social class/income inequality, Cultural identities

Organization Information

Organization Name

Richmond Food Bank Society

Mission and Vision of Organization

Mission

To be a caring organization that provides food assistance, advocacy, and related support for community members in need

Vision

A caring community where no one goes hungry

Guiding Principles + Values

Values

  • Respect: We treat everyone with compassion, trust and dignity
  • Service: We seek innovative ways to better serve the community by providing safe and healthy food
  • Cooperation: We work together with organizations and individuals towards a common goal
  • Accountability: We strive to use donations, funds and resources in a transparent, efficient and responsible manner
  • Advocacy: We provide an active and respected voice for the most vulnerable in our community

Contact Information

  • Primary Contact Person(s): Hajira Hussain
  • Email: hajira@richmondfoodbank.org
  • Phone: 604 271 5609
  • Address: 100 5800 Cedarbridge Way, Richmond BC
  • Website: richmondfoodbank.org

Preferred Method of Contact

  • Best method(s) to contact: Email
  • Best day(s) to contact:Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, email any time. If calling, we're open 9-3 pm on weekdays
  • Best time(s) to contact: Mornings, Afternoons

Project Description

Context: What challenge or issue does the project aim to address?

Founded on 6 March 1983 by the congregations of St. Alban Anglican Church and Richmond Presbyterian, the Richmond Food Bank has continuously provided nutritious food for our neighbours in need.  Twenty families were served on that first day.

Today, the Richmond Food Bank serves over 2200 people on average every week. We provide nutritious grocery assistance through our grocery distributions, grocery parcels delivery service, breakfast and lunch programs in seven Richmond schools, and by supplying community partners with food for their programs.

Through a Fall 2018 LFS350 student project, RFBS gained new insights into our clients' food access experiences and food preferences, especially the importance of culturally appropriate and fresh foods. Since then, we have made adjustments to our food procurement and distribution practices.

The goal of the Winter 2020 LFS350 project is to follow up on the previous student project to:

  • Identify gaps or perceived gaps in the food provided by the Richmond Food Bank
  • Identify opportunities for improvement
  • Identify what we're doing well
  • Specifically, we want to know if clients feel they get culturally and nutritionally adequate foods from the Richmond Food Bank.

Main Project Activities

  • Updating/modifying the existing client questionnaire
  • Implementing the questionnaire (talking to / surveying clients)

Expected Project Deliverable(s)

  • A summary of results from the completed questionnaires that will act as a list of key findings and next steps for the Richmond Food Bank
  • A short presentation of findings to the Richmond Food Bank's executive director

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

  • Interest and/or experience with interviewing and surveying
  • Language skills (fluent English required, conversational Mandarin and/or Cantonese highly valuable)
  • Strong interpersonal skills; empathetic and non-judgmental approach to working with people who are experiencing food insecurity
  • Interest in food security

Student Assets and Skills (to be developed through the project)

  • Interview / survey skills
  • Report writing
  • Qualitative data analysis
  • Presentation skills (students should be prepared to present findings in a short informal meeting with the Richmond Food Bank's executive director)

Are there any mandatory attendance dates (e.g. special event)?

  • No

Is a criminal record check required?

  • Yes

Project Location

  • 100-5800 Cedarbridge Way Richmond BC

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

  • Clients are at Cedarbridge Way for grocery distribution on Wednesdays and Thursdays 11am - 1pm (many will arrive closer to 10am and can be approached between 10am and 11am); additionally they can pick up produce and baked goods Mondays and Fridays 11am - 1pm

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

  • Students who are interested in volunteering may contact stephanie@richmondfoodbank.org with questions, after they have viewed/completed the online application form - volunteer application form

Required Reading

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

Students should review these materials prior to the first partner meeting:

Additional Project/Partner Orientation Materials

The following will be provided at the first community partner meeting:

  • Short building tour with staff person

General Resources

Expected Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

I hope students will learn about...

  • Charitable organizations, emergency food provision

I think students will come to appreciate...

  • the importance of culturally appropriate and nutritionally complete food

Through this project, students will develop...

  • interview skills, and ideally language interpretation skills (among students who are multilingual and can interpret for clients who speak Mandarin or Cantonese)

Organizational Outcomes

Intended Project Outcome (Short-term Outcome)

  • The key findings of the questionnaire will inform Richmond Food Bank's next steps for food procurement and distribution practices.

How does the student project contribute to your organization's mission and long-term vision?

  • Enhancing our ability to identify and address opportunities to offer more culturally appropriate and nutritionally complete food to all clients, as consistent with our organizational values of respect, advocacy, and service.
source: https://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:LFS350/Projects/W2020/RFBS