5. Urban Bounty: Linking Urban Bounty’s Sustenance Project with Food Systems Mapping

Project Description

Note: This project will take place online and in person

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

Building on the work of previous LFS350 student cohorts, students will utilize the documents that have been generated by previous students as background information to build a foundational entry-point into the implementation phase of the Sustenance Project for Seniors and Families and linking these outcomes to the broader City of Richmond food systems planning that Urban Bounty is currently facilitating.

Key points:

• The Sustenance Project offers free cooking classes to young families and seniors, who are cooking on a budget with limited access to fresh, seasonal and nutritious food. The project will support participants to gain nutrition literacy, confidence, and cooking skills. Students will have an opportunity to be participant observers in the Sustenance Project feedback circles with the cooking class participants. Information collected during feedback circles will help to inform nutritional guides, tools and literacy aids that can be used for the classes.

• The Richmond Food Systems mapping is being stewarded by Urban Bounty and will include multiple agencies, organizations, all levels of government, and business representatives, who have touch points to the local food system. The organizing team process will be implemented in Fall 2022 and will include distribution of a survey to broader group of stakeholders to collect preliminary information to inform the mapping. The Challenge Dialogue System Network approach will be used as the methodology. This is a highly collaborative community-action based research method that is used to bring multiple stakeholders together to develop and execute a community-driven solution to complex issues. In this case it will be used to focus on the "Food Ecosystem and all of its various focus areas" (e.g., emergency food, sustainable food production, food security, food literacy, innovation). Students will have an opportunity to be participant observers and support the preparation of background materials for the systems mapping project. This is an opportunity to learn about the linkages between program outcomes, community needs, policy, and changing conditions, and how this informs systems-level planning and decision making processes.

Main Project Activities and Deliverables

• Review of the previous LFS 350 student projects related to the Sustenance Project (please ask your TA to facilitate access)
• Develop literature review related to program implementation and linkages to broader systems planning, including some academic literature with a mix of organizational best practices/systems planning information
• Participate in designing a collaborative conversation circle and multi-stakeholder research design team process
• Media creation of infographics and handouts for Sustenance Project participants
• A poster or video that links the learnings to broader systems planning efforts.

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

• Critical and independent thinking
• Some foundational knowledge of food security related issues
• Ability to work collaboratively
• Willingness to respond to changing conditions that may arise due to collaborative processes
• Ability to utilize media tools to create resources and visuals that can be used for the project
• Non-judgemental and openness to people with different lived experiences and perspectives
• Willingness to ask questions, explore -- innovation is always welcomed!

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

The conversation circles with families and seniors will be mid-point reviews for each of the cohorts and will be scheduled in mid-October (date to be confirmed). The organizing team process will run from early September to October 28. There will not be a mandatory participation request for this process, but students will be welcome and invited to attend and be participant observers.

Is a criminal record search (CRS) required?

• No

How much self-direction is expected from the students?

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

• Flexible

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

• Conversation Circle support
• Challenge Dialogue Organizing Team activities
• Urban Bounty community activities (as they come up)

Required Reading

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

Students should review the following materials prior to the first partner meeting. Additional orientation materials may be provided at the first partner meeting.

• Urban Bounty website
• LFS 350 previous Urban Bounty Sustenance Project student papers (please ask your TA)
• Challenge Dialogue System Network website

Additional Materials

• How to Use Dialogue Circles to Foster Inclusion in Your Classroom
• Talking Circles as First Nations Pedagogy
• Activating Inclusion Toolkit (UBC Equity and Inclusion Office)
• Checklist for Accessible and Inclusive Event Planning and Respectful Dialogues Guide. UBC Equity and Inclusion Office
• City of Richmond Food Charter
• Policy Guide on Community and Regional Food Planning (2007). American Planning Association.
• What does facilitation mean to us? Reflections from POC youth (2020). hua foundation