Food Insecurity Panel
Thursday, October 17th, 6 - 8 pm
Studio 181 601 Christie Street
FREE
Join us for a thought-provoking panel discussion on food insecurity within Toronto's Latin American communities, presented in partnership with The Stop @ Wychwood Barns. We’ll explore the challenges faced, uncover innovative solutions, and examine the impact on individuals and families. Our goal is to raise awareness and foster a meaningful dialogue about how we can collaboratively address this urgent issue.
Whether you’re passionate about community empowerment, food justice, or simply eager to learn more, your presence and input are invaluable. Together, we can drive positive change and support our neighbors in need.
The panel will spotlight the specific challenges faced by Latin American and other communities in Toronto regarding access to nutritious food. We’ll delve into effective strategies and initiatives that promote health, equity, and social transformation through food advocacy. Gain insights into the current landscape of food insecurity, the role of community-based food initiatives, and strategies for enhancing food equity within diverse communities.
Panelists
Chef Jagger Gordon
Feed It Forward
Jagger Sean Gordon, an esteemed culinary innovator and devoted humanitarian, has left an enduring legacy through his inventive endeavors and steadfast commitment to eliminating food insecurity. With an innate passion for cooking and a profound dedication to social change, Gordon's career as an executive chef has been defined by ingenuity, empathy, and an unwavering pursuit of culinary excellence.
In 2014, he pioneered the Feed It Forward movement, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at rescuing surplus food and redistributing it to those in need. Through this endeavor, Gordon has provided sustenance to millions worldwide, repurposing surplus food to nourish the hungry and underserved, even extending aid to areas ravaged by natural disasters and conflict, such as Ukraine. Yet, Gordon's ambition knew no bounds. In his relentless pursuit to combat food insecurity comprehensively, he conceptualized the "pay-what-you-can" grocery store, aptly named The Pay. This innovative approach to grocery shopping empowers individuals to access fresh, nutritious food irrespective of their financial means, fostering dignity and community cohesion in the process. The success of The Pay inspired Gordon to broaden his vision further, leading to the inception of The Soup Bar, a network of eateries offering pay-what-you-can meals, particularly within university campuses. Presently, Gordon stands at the forefront of another culinary revolution, poised to transform the landscape of food sharing with the launch of free food-sharing apps. These platforms, aptly titled Here Appear, serve as conduits for global citizens to share surplus food resources, mitigating waste and alleviating hunger concurrently. Within these apps lies the innovative Soup Bar application, spotlighting restaurants and establishments participating in Gordon's Feed It Forward program, showcasing their commitment to repurposing surplus ingredients into nourishing soups, stews, and chilies.
As Gordon's visionary initiatives garner recognition and momentum on a global scale, his impact reverberates throughout the culinary realm and beyond. Through his unwavering dedication to feeding the hungry, curbing food waste, and fostering community resilience, Jagger Sean Gordon has not only transformed countless lives but has also inspired a new generation of chefs and activists to join the crusade against hunger and inequity. With his gaze set on further expansion and innovation, Gordon's culinary odyssey continues, promising a future where no individual experiences food insecurity, and where food serves as a unifying force of nourishment, connection, and compassion.
Tania Borja
The Stop
Tania Borja, is a Certified Natural Health Practitioner, Speaker, Writer, Community Organizer, and the mother of two. She is the founder and Director of Lunae Healing Arts, an Integrated Holistic Health Practice. Currently she is the Senior Coordinator of Healthy Beginings program at the Stop Community Food Centre. Healthy Beginnings is a perinatal nutrition, health and social support program that serves pregnant participants and their families living in west Toronto.
Tania has professional training in different kinds of alternative and complementary health methods and therapies from a body-mind-soul perspective. Tania has over 15 years' experience facilitating individual counselling, group activities and retreats, as well as planning and coordinating health, wellness and culture related events. She has explored different areas of creative expression and has been involved in various artistic projects to encourage other community members to discover and develop their own artistic expression. Tania is a daughter, a sister, a mother and a friend who delights in small pleasures such a good cup of tea, a steamy espresso or a good glass of red wine. She loves foods form all over the world, especially tacos!; feeling the warmth of the sun while riding her bike and the lovely dusks by the beach. She is passionate about Indigenous traditions and medicine, world culture, gardening, and traveling amongst others. Through all of this, she wishes to contribute to the great global consciousness in a respectful and peaceful way.
Cecilia Rocha
School of Nutrition - Metropolitan University
Cecilia (PhD in Economics) is the past Director of the School of Nutrition, Ryerson University, where she is a Professor of Food Security and Food Policy. Cecilia is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), and the Canadian Lead of the project Scaling-up small-scale food processing for therapeutic and complementary foods for children in Vietnam, funded by Global Affairs Canada and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). From 2004 to 2010, Dr. Rocha was the Director of the project Building Capacity in Food Security in Brazil, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. Her work and publications on Belo Horizonte has brought international attention to that Brazilian city's innovative policies and programs for food security. She has participated in research of food security conditions among immigrant populations in Toronto, and was an active member of the Toronto Food Policy Council from 2006 to 2011. Cecilia Rocha, PhD, is a Professor Emerita and former Director (2010-2019) in the School of Nutrition, and an Associate Researcher and former Director (2005-2010 and 2019-2021) of the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is the creator and co-coordinator of the Betinho Project (https://betinhoproject.wixsite.com/the-betinho-project), under which she has maintained a long-standing collaboration with Brazilian scholars, from universities, government, and non-government organizations, in research as well as knowledge dissemination. Dr. Rocha participated in the development of the Toronto Food Strategy (2008-2010), and was a member of the Toronto Food Policy Council (2005-2011). She has done research on the role of food in the lives of recent immigrant women, and on food insecurity among Latin American recent immigrants in Toronto. Cecilia was also a member of the Expert Panel on the State of Knowledge of Food Security in Northern Canada (2012-2014) at the Council of Canadian Academies. Among her many international contributions, Dr. Rocha was the director of the project Building Capacity in Food Security in Brazil and Angola (2004-2010), co-director of the project Scaling up small-scale food processing for therapeutic and complementary food for children in Vietnam (2015-2018), and was among the inaugural members of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) from 2014 to 2021. Considered an expert on the innovative approach to food and nutrition security in the city of Belo Horizonte, Cecilia is the author of a number of scholarly papers and reports on food policy and programs in Brazil.
Vanessa Ling Yu (she/they)
Executive Director, caterToronto
Vanessa Ling Yu is the founding Executive Director of caterToronto, a Toronto neighbourhoods-based catering network with the mission to cultivate better social and economic outcomes by connecting people and food in ways that are diverse, dignified, and delicious for all!
Vanessa’s knowledge and experience of working with communities includes participatory action research, health promotion, economic development, and food sector sustainability. They maintain a long-standing commitment to pursuing critical food justice with specific focus on developing inclusive local food economies and community health that prioritizes racialized women and migrants; of whom she believes potential and power is too often overlooked and undervalued. Her interest and investment into this work stem from evolving yet enduring encounters that she has personally experienced, and bares witness to, when it comes to cultural, social, economic, and political barriers at various levels; across generations and boundaries.
Vanessa has served on various local and global boards, advisories, and committees to represent constituents at neighbourhood to national levels, including as a representative for International Health Promotion and Public Health Education. Their current voluntary roles are as Director at Asian Community AIDS Services and as an Advisor for FoodShare Toronto’s working groups for food justice and social enterprise.
Vanessa’s quirky tidbits of the moment are taking care of her health by embracing non-food related hobbies and typically rejecting being called a “chef”. So far, kayaking, crafting, hiking, rock-climbing, and square breathing are going swimmingly!
