Food + Migrant Justice in Renfrew Collingwood

Our local Neighbourhood Food Networks are doing amazing work all across the city!

This month, check out the work that our local Neighbourhood Food Network Renfrew Collingwood Food Security Institute is doing around themes of migrant + food justice and celebration.

For more updates on the Renfrew-Collingwood Food Security Institute, follow them on Facebook & WordPress

 

Movie Night: Migrant Dreams

Join our local Neighbourhood Food Network Renfrew Collingwood Food Security Institute for a film screening of MIGRANT DREAMS, a powerful documentary on Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Movie Night: Migrant Dreams
September 21st 2017
5288 Joyce Street from 6-8 PM
Collingwood Neighbourhood House
Register at the Front Desk (604 435 0323) or via email at foodsecurity@cnh.bc.ca

 

“MIGRANT DREAMS is a powerful documentary exploring the undertold story of migrant agricultural workers struggling against Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), where foreign workers are treated as modern-day indentured labourers. Under the rules of Canada’s migrant labour program, low wage migrants are tied to one employer.”

For more information about the film, visit http://www.migrantdreams.ca/

 

Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival: Migrations theme 

Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival
September 30th 2017
Harvest Fair at Slocan Park (2750 E. 29th Avenue) from 4-6:45 PM
Lantern Procession at Slocan Park at 6:45 PM
Grand Finale at Renfrew Park Community Centre from 7-9 PM


“This year’s theme, Migrations, allows attendees to reflect on the global movements that occur every day, from the smallest of salmon fry to the largest of humans. Birds journey across land and sea to discover new places and build their nests; salmon and fish swim across vast oceans to spawn new life and continue the survival of their species and others; humans flow within and across boundaries to pursue new opportunities, reunite with loved ones, or find safety.

With the current issues in our world, these systems of movement have played a significant role in people’s identity and relationships. As you yourself move through the festival and experience the installations of this year’s event, we invite you to discover your own stories and how you relate to this year’s theme.

Renfrew-Collingwood Food Security Institute will be at Slocan Park for the Harvest Fair. Bring your best-looking vegetables and fruits for our annual Harvest Fair Competition. Your tomato could win the “Tubbiest Tomato” category.

Visit Still Moon Arts Society for more information.

 

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Read on to learn Renfrew-Collingwood Food Security Institute’s August food justice workshop, “Guacamole: A cooking lesson for justice,” offered in partnership with the Migrant Workers Dignity Association.

Article shared from Renfrew-Collingwood Community News with permission from Emma Warner Chee of the Renfrew Collingwood Food Security Institute. Renfrew Collingwood Food Security Institute is a member of the Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks. 

Making the guacamole. Photo courtesy of the Renfrew-Collingwood Food Security Institute

Guacamole for Justice

BY EMMA WARNER CHEE

On August 23, 2017, the Renfrew-Collingwood Food Security Institute partnered with the Migrant Workers Dignity Association to offer a workshop called Guacamole: A Cooking Lesson for Justice. The Migrant Workers Dignity Association is a non-profit that supports migrant workers in learning and advocating for their rights, as well as in educating the public about the injustices faced by migrant workers.

Through an interactive, theatrical cooking lesson, the group made guacamole and learned about the injustices facing temporary farmer workers who grow our food, such as having to work long hours without overtime pay, being unable to access medical care and working in unsafe conditions. After the workshop, workers answered questions from participants and share some of their personal experiences.

The Food Security Institute aims to provide space for critical conversations about food systems. Join the institute on Thursday, September 21 for a screening of Min Sook Lee’s 2016 film Migrant Dreams (distributed by Cinema Politica), a documentary that explores the experiences of seasonal agricultural workers in Canada. A facilitated discussion will follow the film.

Please see the blog rcfood.wordpress.com or pick up an activity schedule from Collingwood Neighbourhood House for more information about this and other great events!

Emma Warner Chee is the urban agriculture assistant and summer student with the Renfrew Collingwood Food Security Institute.