Equity, Inclusion, Reconciliation, Anti-Oppression, and Accessibility

Why EIRA?

EIRA is at the core of Right To Food’s vision: “We believe in a country where the right to food is realized for all and where every community has a place for food that nurtures health and well-being, belonging, and social justice.” It is also integral to our values-informed approach to the work.

Right To Food fulfills this mandate by partnering with food organizations, communities, and donors to address, build capacity, and advocate for on the ground and system-level changes to food insecurity.

The correlation between food insecurity and discrimination is well documented. In Canada, due to the longstanding impacts of colonization and systemic racism, food insecurity is experienced at higher rates by racialized households and especially by Indigenous (30.7%) and Black households (28. 9%).

Right To Food recognizes that in order to implement our mandate, our approach to the work must be informed by a commitment to dismantling anti-Indigenous and Anti-Black racism, and applying an equity lens to the work.

EIRA is central to Right To Food’s outward-facing and internal ways of working. As a settler-led and settler-majority organization, we understand our specific responsibility to be transparent with all our collaborators about:

• our commitments and approach to EIRA work
• the internal preparation, learning, and change work that has been and continues to be done to equip and lead us to meet our commitments and make transformational change.

What is Right To Food’s EIRA strategic framework?

Right To Food developed and adopted the EIRA framework in order to steer our organizational equity work. This framework looks at Right To Food’s EIRA journey and documents our past and present approach to the work and how we will move it forward in an ongoing way into the future.

This framework guides how we work internally at all levels from the individual, interpersonal, and organizational, how we hire, how we design programs, how we develop relationships with community food organization partners, and how we measure impact. It is a deep internal commitment that shapes our organizational work practices and culture and how we interface with our partners.

Right To Food’s Reconciliation Action Plan

Our Reconciliation Action Plan guides how we work both internally and externally as an organization.

Internally, we’re committed to learning about the truth and listening to our many Indigenous collaborators so that we understand the continuing impact of colonial systems. This will inform and shape our work in creating policies and practices that are inclusive of Indigenous worldviews.

Externally, we focus on building respectful partnerships with Indigenous community food organizations. This includes supporting the Indigenous Network, a growing group of Indigenous-led organizations and leaders advancing Indigenous food sovereignty. The Indigenous Network strengthens relationships, shares knowledge, and uplifts Indigenous voices to support self-determined, culturally rooted food systems.

Why a Reconciliation Action Plan?

Since 2016, CFCC has been learning from and building partnerships with Indigenous-led and Indigenous-serving organizations. These relationships have shown us that reconciliation work must be community-led, open-hearted, and adaptable.

This plan helps us reflect on what we’ve learned so far and clarify how we will move forward. It also provides a way to be transparent with our partners and funders, and to hold ourselves accountable to ongoing change.

Our approach to the work is informed by these principles:

• Community-driven relationship: To be in a relationship when you are asked and invited.
• With truth and transparency: Strive towards trust-based relationships where there is clarity and a full understanding of Right To Food’s role.
• Committing to a distinctions-based approach: Recognizing the unique culture, territory, history, and strengths of working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples and partners based on their terms.
• Based upon reciprocity: Avoiding transactional relationships (funder/fundee) and prioritizing reciprocal partnerships.
• Focused on deepening relationships: The relationships we develop with Indigenous partners are nurtured and long lasting.