“Baklava, biryani rice, smoothies.” Fatima and Leo are listing their favourite recipes.
“Falafel …”
“Don’t forget your ice cream,” Fatima teases. “It’s my favourite!” They both laugh.
Fatima, originally from Jordan, joined DIVERSEcity’s first FoodFit program for Arabic-speaking seniors last year. Sitting with Leo, the program facilitator, she reviews the class activities with delight.
Right To Food partners with DIVERSEcity, a community organization in Surrey, BC, to deliver the program, which supports participants to take control of their health by identifying their own goals and creating a plan to achieve them. Together, they share recipes from around the world, cook, eat, exercise, and support each other in making small, sustainable changes toward healthier living.
For Fatima, the experience has been meaningful:
“I learned how to cook food from different cultures, like Chinese, Indian, and Mexican recipes. I already know how to cook, but here I can try new things. I like to experiment and see how other people make their dishes. The program helps me eat healthy and exercise, which is so important for me now. I like meeting people and making friends. We share, we talk, we laugh, and I don’t feel alone. As a senior, this is a good chance for me to go out, be with others, and feel part of the community.”
Right To Food developed the FoodFit program to support people who are experiencing barriers to accessing nutritious, culturally diverse foods and physical activity, including people living on low incomes. The program is offered nationally with grants, a curriculum, and a suite of supports for local facilitation and impact measurement. Participants learn how to make many simple, affordable changes to food and exercise habits that can improve their health and well-being. Many participants also find a supportive community of new friends and contacts critical to sustaining these changes.
Fatima looks forward to continuing to volunteer for the program. With two more FoodFit programs for Arabic-speaking seniors on the horizon, she generously offers her time as an interpreter to help welcome and support others like herself.
“Anytime they need me, I’ll be there,” she says with a smile.
MIND YOUR FOOD
Right To Food has also developed Mind Your Food, a hands-on cooking and nutrition program designed to promote positive mental health among youth, including those from newcomer and Indigenous communities. Some of the program’s activities this past year included: berry picking, making sushi, preparing moose meat, learning how to make a fire, and doing mindful breathing. Today, Mind Your Food is making an impact in seven communities across Canada. Over the next couple of years, we’ll scale up our impact to reach 15 communities.
Among the participants, 83% increased their confidence to prepare a nutritious meal from whole ingredients. And 100% of caregivers reported their youth participants being more involved with food preparation at home.
