3:30 - 3:45 pm EST
Setting the Stage: Innovative programs to provide healthy and affordable food to Canadians in need
Morgan Allen, Fresh Routes - CLICK for bio
Julia Tran, Grocery Run Program - CLICK for bio
Description:
Migrant families face unique challenges and barriers when trying to access sufficient quantities and quality of nutritious and culturally relevant foods. This presentation will describe the operationalization of a spectrum of culturally relevant strategies aimed at reducing food insecurity among migrant families in Edmonton, Alberta.
A community-based participatory research study conducted by the University of Alberta's ENRICH Research Program and the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative was targeted at better understanding the optimal dietary intake of migrant women during pregnancy and postpartum. They found that while the women had a strong understanding of what foods to eat to support a healthy pregnancy, the majority did not have sufficient income to buy enough food for themselves and their families.
A food rescue program called "The Grocery Run Program" was initially developed in response to these findings and was intended as a stopgap measure to provide emergency access to healthy, culturally appropriate foods for migrant families experiencing severe food insecurity.
The partnership has since attempted to replace the program with longer term, sustainable initiatives to target food insecurity among migrant families. One of these initiatives is a partnership with the Leftovers Foundation, Western Canada's largest food rescue charity, which has resulted in the expansion of food distribution to other service organizations within Edmonton while simultaneously increasing the availability of food for the Grocery Run Program.
Another initiative that the partnership has supported is the launch of Fresh Routes Mobile Grocery Store in late 2019. This year-round, community-driven "grocery store on wheels" provides fresh, nutritious, and culturally relevant foods at below market prices to Edmonton communities in need, focusing on communities with high numbers of low-income or single-parent families, newcomers, students, and seniors. The Mobile Grocery Store aims to improve access to nutritious food by removing physical and financial barriers, while maintaining choice and dignity.
Learning Objectives:
- participants will gain a more nuanced understanding of the unique challenges and barriers that newcomers face in accessing food
- participants will see several examples of how to operationalize culturally relevant ways of responding to food insecurity with newcomer populations