“I know you would do the same for me”
I’m now six months into my role with Food Ethics Council and it has absolutely flown by. My post here was first conceived to be focused on strengthening the vibrant food citizenship movement and has evolved to cover exploring ethical and dignified approaches to building community food resilience alongside. I’ve spent the first part of […]
Gratitude and hope
It has been a tough yet hopeful year for food, sustainability and social justice. Looking forward to 2022 we will all need strength, hope and inspiration to remain resilient. Food citizenship gives us all these things. I’ve really loved the last three months exploring, listening and learning, and wanted this last blog of the year to reflect on some highlights: Meeting the team and council in person […]
Designing food citizenship spaces
One key element of food citizenship is connection. When people are brought together, new relationships are formed, information flows more easily, ideas are generated more quickly. New possibilities emerge. It is this emergence that builds resilience. Building on initial workshops on community food resilience in Sheffield, in August 2020 we interviewed community food organisations to […]
Building community food resilience amidst a global pandemic
Amidst the chaos, innovation can emerge. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the fragility of our food systems, but it is also showing the light through the cracks. Much can be learned from the major shifts we have been experiencing, as long as we know where to look. When looking at food ‘first respondents’, we can […]
Two food stories during the pandemic
During the past few months of lockdown, the forces of consumerism and food citizenship have collided and shifted more than ever. This has been particularly true for organisations focused on emergency food aid. They have been facing their own challenges when trying to shift from treating people as consumers, who receive a service and food […]
Cooking to survive in exile
Migrateful, a social enterprise providing cooking classes taught by refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. Founder Jess Thomspon unpacks how Migrateful empowers their chefs on the journey to employment, integration and independence.
Understanding poverty and poor diets
The barriers to cooking for people in poverty are complex and multiple. Too often resulting poor diets are thought to be an outcome of no cooking skills or lack of motivation. Alicia Weston from Bags of Taste, unpacks some of these more complex reasons and how they have been exacerbated under the pandemic and lockdown.
Resilience begins with a seed
As we move through the pandemic, we are thinking about how we can #BuildBackBetter and embed food citizenship thinking as we build and strengthen resilient food systems moving forward. Helene Schulze is co-director of the London Freedom Seed Bank and regional coordinator for the Seed Sovereignty Programme of the Gaia Foundation. Here she unpacks the […]