The Fibre of Community

As the days grow longer and warmer, I start planting seeds and perennials start popping out of the ground around me, I begin to think more about food access and sovereignty (the ability to participate in the production of food). Food can be one of life’s great connectors, with countless celebrations and rituals worldwide focused around the planting, harvesting, preparation and consumption of food.

It is an absolute privilege to play any part in bringing the gifts of the earth to the tables of our community, and it is not something I take for granted. Many communities and individuals across our city, country and world are separated for their methods of food acquisition and production, sometimes absolutely by design.

I have been following the work of Crop Swap Los Angeles for the past few years, being inspired by their tireless efforts to create a network of micro farms across south central LA, an area experiencing food apartheid (sometimes known as a food desert). They are restoring the earth around them in an urban setting, creating jobs, and bringing life in many forms through the food they are growing. It is really inspiring. You can read more about Crop Swap LA here: https://www.cropswapla.org/

LifeDirt was designed with the community in mind, and it is my hope that over the coming years we will be able to support the strengthening of our community’s fibre, if you will, through food. Conversations are ongoing around how to do this as a business through our products and services.

In the meantime, here is a look at what we do to support our community’s food access already:

 

Share The Love

This is our longest running community connection opportunity for LifeDirt customers. It enables you to put money toward either an entire box or some amount of produce for another person. This produce is given to an individual or family who we connect with through a local non-profit, or to an organization that offers a help-yourself pantry.

This season, we have chosen to use all our Share The Love contributions to contribute produce to Sophia Recovery Centre’s meals that are a new part of their 6-week Intensive Day Program. Please read more about this program below, and if you are interested in giving toward food for this program, simply follow this link.

“The Intensive Day Program at Sophia is an intensive workshop for women in early recovery, running three days a week for six weeks at our Saint John centre. The program serves as a bridge for women transitioning from acute treatment to less intensive activities. This approach provides targeted support for women who are at heightened risk of relapse and effectively connects them to ongoing care.

Lunch is provided for the women in the program. We have had Naan pizzas, ham tetrazinni, lentil soup, cobb salad, vegetable fried rice, sandwiches. We try to keep it as low cost, nutritious, and delicious as possible.” Holly Durham, Sophia Recovery Centre

 

Low Cost Boxes

For every round of boxes, we offer one or two “low cost” versions, which are subsidized by the business but contain the same produce as everyone else’s boxes. We also offer this as a subscription option, for one customer per season.

 

Sowing Goodness

Another way to participate in community food security initiatives through LifeDirt is to give toward our Sowing Goodness partnership with two local registered charities in Saint John’s Crescent Valley and West Side. You can read the details of the program below, but essentially the idea is that you make a donation to one of those organizations in the amount of a produce box, and the organization purchases a box from LifeDirt when then need it, either to provide to an individual/family or to distribute to community members who come in looking for fresh food. 

Read more: https://lifedirt.ca/blogs/lifedirt-blog/new-partnership-brings-more-goodness-to-saint-john

Community Kitchens

While soup kitchens and food pantries seem to be in abundance in Saint John, there are few opportunities for people to actually take part in preparing the food they eat in community. In the lower south end, PULSE’s Food & Dudes program offers this opportunity, and uptown the Foodie Fridays at Stone Church do the same. LifeDirt is a partner in the Foodie Fridays program, supplying local fresh produce and meats when required for the meals. Read more about it here.