Come Eat With Me: Cultivating Community Through Food Security
“Come Eat With Me: Food is Belonging,” believes food is more than sustenance—it’s a cornerstone of connection and community. Our pilot program, launched in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario, demonstrates this foundational principle. Through strategic funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse (2021-2022), and Manitoba Agriculture and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (2023-2024), we’ve nurtured a community of practice where growing together create a sense of family and belonging.
Our unique approach combines a Land-Based Living Lab with arts-based Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). This deepens our relationship with the land, building a sustainable foundation for future generations. We’re dedicated to ensuring food security for all, transforming potential isolation into meaningful connection.
Youth Leadership in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems
Empowering youth is central to shaping a sustainable, food-secure future. In our 2023-2024 pilot year, we collaborated with leading organizations and institutions, including the University of Minnesota Duluth, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Global Dignity Canada, University of the Arctic, University of Manitoba, the University of Victoria, Manitoba Agriculture, the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. These partnerships equipped youth and community members with vital hands-on skills and knowledge in food production and sustainable agriculture.
Through gardening, traditional knowledge, and spatial justice initiatives, youth engaged in real-world projects that bolster community food systems. They learned to grow, prepare, and share food, honoring cultural traditions while addressing contemporary food security challenges. Our youth leaders are at the forefront of reclaiming traditional food knowledge and advancing local food sovereignty. They are actively working to dismantle systems of inequality, advocate for sustainable agricultural policies, and create innovative, community-based food solutions that will inform and shape our future programming.
Thank You To Manitoba Agriculture, Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada And The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership
The first pilot year of our program faced many challenges. However, we were able to study experiential, biophilic, and emergent design, food product development, mixed-methodological approaches to participatory media arts, spatial justice, and even the growing importance of artificial intelligence for the agri-food sector.
What began as a small, grassroots pilot project grew to be presented across Canada and around the world! This will be the first year the program grows its own food. Thank you to Manitoba Agriculture, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership for supporting our efforts. The program is now being adapted for a second iteration, to begin in summer 2025.
