This is the eighth in a series of blog posts featuring each of our Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks.
The Mount Pleasant Food Network (MPFN) is dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of all residents living in Mount Pleasant and nearby neighbourhoods by promoting an accessible, just and sustainable food system for our community. Administered by Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, this Network plays an important role in community development especially relating to food security and food justice issues.
The Mount Food Network has a focus on building value in the food justice movement and supporting the work of individuals and groups who are experts in this field. Over the past seven years, outgoing Network Coordinator and Indigenous community developer and planner Jolene Andrew (Git’xsan, Wit’suwet’in) has been an advisor on Indigenous food sovereignty issues.
Currently the network is seeking a new Network Coordinator (part-time) to continue Jolene’s wonderful work and bring new energy and ideas to the network. Please inquire at info@mpnh.org.
The Network’s activities typically include Indigenous land sovereignty advocacy and action through the Queen Alexandra Elementary School garden, and the Resurfacing History Project, hosted by Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House. The school garden has been part of the Indigenous Foodscapes project by FarmToSchool BC and the Vancouver School Board, and seed saving practices are taught for food system resiliency.
Before COVID, Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House and the Food Network served weekly community meals and frequently hosted cooking and nutrition workshops for participants of all ages. Food recovery and distribution has been one of many supports offered to low-income participants.
Since COVID, many activities have shifted to an online format. The Food Network Coordinator participates in many groups and committees, with a COVID response lens from the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood view. This includes Climate Equity at the City of Vancouver and the Food Policy Council.
Some of the typical Neighbourhood House programming has shifted toward online cooking workshops, including a monthly youth cooking club using Zoom. While the Mount Pleasant Food Network typically gathers with many community organizations, the pandemic has prevented a gathering of the full network, but outdoor activities at the garden have continued.
Direct services have been shifted toward emergency food response, and supplying take-home meals and food boxes to seniors.
Goals
In the autumn of 2019, the Mount Pleasant Food Network was able to have some planning done to inform the future and ongoing work priorities, although these plans have been put on pause. The Food Network’s priorities are to work on communication to grow the network, and focus on collaboration and connecting across networks to support new and developing initiatives. They would also like to directly support some initiatives like starting new projects.
In order to build capacity across the Network, and to share the work and draw on additional resources, the Mount Pleasant Food Network is moving toward a cohesive and collaborative inter-agency approach to supporting its activities.
Learn more, contribute and celebrate community food action with Mount Pleasant Food Network:
- Email: info@mpnh.org
- www.mpnh.org/food
