Full shopping grocery cart in supermarket.
This just came in and we feel it is an important media release to share. Everyone has the right to healthy food, if you believe that you can join this march taking place at Jane & Finch on the weekend.
This Saturday, September 12th, 2015:
Day of Action, includes March, Revolutionary Gardening, Panel Discussion, Entertainment, Tabling and Community Meal
Jane & Finch Residents Plan Street Take-Over to Raise Awareness of Food as a Human Right
Black Creek Food Justice is rallying Jane-Finch community for a Day of Action this Saturday, September 12th to demand food as a human right for all.
Where: Starting at the corner of Jane and Finch we will be marching along Jane to the Driftwood Community Centre (4401 Jane St., North York).
When: September 12th, 2015. Media scrum at 12 noon, march will begin shortly after.
Who: Hosted by Black Creek Food Justice
“We say ‘Food is a human right’ because it’s essential for life. We are all human beings. So we all deserve to have access to sufficient food,” argues Abena Offeh-Gyimah, a coordinator at Black Creek Community Farm.
Too many people in Toronto, especially people of colour and those in low-income areas, have insufficient access to healthy food. This food insecurity contributes to poor health and higher rates of diet-related diseases like heart disease, with children being especially vulnerable. As Abena says: “It’s sad. You don’t have a lot of families in this community that are making enough money to give their kids healthy meals – they can’t even afford healthy food for their families.”
The Food is a Human Right event will kick off with a march up Jane to the Driftwood Community Centre. After symbolically taking back the street, the group will make a few short stops to engage in Revolutionary Gardening – taking back public spaces to grow healthy food…in the community, for the community. The plants and seeds were chosen to represent the diverse cultural foods of the community, including beans, peas, beets, radishes, calliloo and other varieties of greens.
The march will be followed by a lively panel discussion featuring prominent members of Toronto’s food justice scene, including members of the Toronto Food Policy Council and Justice 4 Migrant Workers. Organizers will be calling on politicians and others for action to address food injustices such as inadequate wages that make it impossible to afford good food, insufficient government support for growing food in the community, and an end to discrimination based on race and mental or physical health challenges in the food system. These demands require us, as Abena says: “to hold our government accountable. You can have politicians or councilors or MPPs that are stating that yes we support food justice, but I think it’s time we move towards accountability.”
The schedule of events is as follows:
12:20 pm – Media scrum (corner of Jane and Finch)
12:30pm – March begins, with stops to build food gardens along the way
1:30pm – Panel Discussion on Food Justice (Driftwood Community Centre) with representatives from Toronto Food Policy Council, Network for the Elimination of Police Violence, Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP), Workers’ Action Centre, National Farmers Union, Justice 4 Migrant Workers
Followed by food, art, entertainment, seedling giveaways and some great mini workshops!