Community Engagement and Food Dialogue

Saeideh Hejazi, Deanna Hurstfield, Fauve Smith

October 11, 2024

“Food is community: Help us build both in Kamloops.” You may have encountered this statement in our online or printed surveys posted in your neighbourhood. This survey has been a crucial part of our Community Engagement and Food Dialogue initiative, which aims to contribute to the 2024 Kamloops Food Policy Council’s Food and the City project.

We believe food has the power to bring people together. Therefore, we wanted to engage people from diverse corners of the city in conversations about food. To facilitate this, we crafted a series of questions about food that you may ponder on a daily basis. These questions range from lighthearted inquiries such as, “What food do you think your pet wishes they could share with you,” to more profound considerations like, “What do you think future foods will be like?”

In September, the project team distributed paper questionnaires across various parts of the city, spanning from the Northshore, Downtown, and Dallas. These questionnaires were available at the Kamloops Farmers’ Market, community organizations’ bulletin boards, and public bulletin boards in some neighbourhoods. To make it more convenient for people to respond, we also included a QR code to an online survey. This online survey allowed individuals to participate when convenient for them; whether at home after dinner, or at a restaurant while waiting for food.

But what is the purpose of conducting this survey?

At the Kamloops Food Policy Council, we believe in fostering a local food system that is regenerative, sovereign, and just. Our role in achieving this vision involves building grassroots community capacity around food. While we have made significant progress in several areas, there are still some barriers preventing us from fully realizing this vision, including:

Lack of food awareness and engagement:
- Limited community involvement in discussions about food security and local food systems.
- Disconnection between people and their food sources.
- Different political views and social divides hinder effective dialogue.
Cultural disconnection from food practice:
- Loss of traditional knowledge and practices related to food.
- Historical and societal shifts affecting sustainable and healthy food practices.

We identified a need to bridge divides for inclusive community initiatives. This engaging food survey has acted as an initial step in involving the community in food dialogue, with the aim to raise awareness and cultivate inclusive solutions. The Community Engagement Survey has the potential to spark important conversations among community members about food security and our local food system. These discussions could mobilize individuals throughout Kamloops, helping them connect through various networks and resources, which ultimately strengthens the larger food system—like mycelium in a thriving ecosystem.

What made this community engagement experience particularly powerful was how the project evolved from our original idea into something more as it was shaped by grassroots community involvement. The framework we started with was significantly influenced by the feedback we received from community; resulting in a more dynamic and responsive process. This shift demonstrated how a community-driven approach can transform an initiative, making it not just a top-down effort, but one that resonates deeply with those it aims to serve. The entire survey process reinforced the idea that true community engagement requires adaptability and openness to unexpected, yet valuable, shifts in direction.

Although the Kamloops Food Policy Council started this project as part of a fun way to encourage community engagement in the Food and the City project ahead of the provincial election, community feedback suggested keeping the online survey open. So the project committee has decided to extend it as a long-term project. Here is the link to our online survey: https://forms.gle/Prfjc5Vwq8hv5LE29.

One serendipitous outcome of the survey is that the Kamloops Farmers’ Market in partnership with Kamloops Art Gallery and Kamloops Immigrant Services will be using these survey questions as prompts for the basis of another project about food stories and regional food identity.

We would like to conclude this article by sharing some storytelling pieces that highlight our project team members’ unique experiences in this community engagement project.

Organizers’ Stories

Deanna: This project is exciting for me because in our globalized industrial food system food tends to be seen only as calories and purely functional in fulfilling the need to sustain our bodies. But food can nourish us in other ways too. It can be joyful and celebratory. It can bring us together and build community. So I am excited to participate in a project which encourages discussion of food in a fun and playful way. My hope is through this project more people will think about the role food plays in our lives, and it will generate discussions with family, friends, or even just acquaintances.

Fauve: My experience with the Kamloops Food Policy Council’s Food and the City 2024 Community Engagement Survey has been enlightening. Initially, our group of four focused on gathering input through various channels—by posting the survey at events, in community centers, online, and in large institutions like TRU classrooms—but it quickly became clear that online sharing was the most accessible and effective method for reaching the community, at least in my experience. While in-person feedback was limited, despite efforts like putting up posters at local spots such as Safeway on the Northshore and Northhills Shopping Centre, the digital approach seemed to engage people more effectively. It’s clear that our outreach needs to be more targeted moving forward for optimal responses. However, the responses we did receive were passionate and insightful, highlighting the importance of thoughtful engagement strategies.

Saeideh: I find the responses we receive truly fascinating. Bringing people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, income levels, ages, etc. together to share their enjoyable food stories and express their views on important matters like the future of food is invaluable. Some responses were quite similar, while others were remarkably different. This highlights the value of a community with multiple perspectives, which can be harnessed in the decision-making process.

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