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Cultivating Black Food Sovereignty in Toronto

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Event description

Together we will build an informed, sustainable framework for a Toronto Black Food Sovereignty Alliance grounded in purpose and intention

About this Event

Black Canadian communities experience high levels of food insecurity: a recent study found that almost 30% of Black households experience food insecurity, and Black households are 3.6 times more likely to be food insecure than white households. This level of Black food insecurity illustrates a lack of access to food, a lack of control over how and what types of foods we have access to, and the extent to which Black communities are structurally and systemically disadvantaged in Canadian society. Yet despite these challenges, many vital community efforts have been working towards improving Black food security for over 25 years, although this work has been, and remains, sorely under resourced.

Therefore, through experiential and targeted discussions, the Black Food Sovereignty Initiative Toronto conference program will explore, share and refine concepts related to how our enduring pursuit for food justice, food security, health equity, economic equity and independence, can bring this vision of self-determination to full fruition. This is but one, in a long series of steps, in our pursuit to establish and solidify a Black Food Sovereignty Alliance Toronto that is vibrant, dynamic and sustainable, now and for years to come, as envisioned by us and for us: the African, Caribbean and Black communities of African descent in the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. We are therefore prioritizing the voices of Toronto’s African, Black & Caribbean community who are of African descent, and welcome others to join in - to listen and learn - in preparation for when the time comes to invite a variety of other voices to join the conversation as well.

The purpose of the conference is to:

understand the issue of Black Food Sovereignty in the light of COVID-19 and the City of Toronto’s response to emergency food relief for black communities in Toronto;
generate a shared understanding of food sovereignty within and applicable to Black communities in Toronto;
strengthen stakeholder commitment to build the Toronto Black Sovereignty Alliance and achieve food sovereignty
capture community input to inform the policy and program issues and identify pathways for moving forward