Let’s learn together: A food justice learning series

In this series of short talks at her farm Sundance Harvest, Cheyenne Sundance shares her farming story, some of the barriers she faces as a young Black woman in farming, her tips for growing food easily (even without a lot of resources or any experience), and what we can do as families, schools, and communities to ensure food justice for everyone.

Each talk is between six and 12 minutes and totally appropriate for watching with young viewers.

Click here for a written transcript of Cheyenne’s Farming Story video.

Click here for a written transcript of the What is Food Justice? video.

Click here for a written transcript of the How to Grow Food video.

Places to find food growing support

More experienced gardeners remember how they felt when they were first learning to grow food and many are happy to help new gardeners. Here are a few places to connect with supporters:

• Grow Food Toronto is a Facebook group with lots of good growing advice plus weekly plant trades and shares.
• Toronto Seed Library has “branches” across the city. Seeds are for everyone! And as you begin growing, you can save seeds to share too.
• Seedy Saturday hosts seed swaps and virtual learning events.
• Food Up Front provides seeds and encourages people to grow food in visible ways so others can learn and be encouraged.
• Join a local “buy nothing” group. While these aren’t gardening-specific groups, members often have plant pots, extra soil mix, seedlings, and seeds to share

“Seeds are for everyone and water is for everyone and land is for everyone.”

Cheyenne Sundance

Extra resources for parents, guardians, and educators who want to learn more

Our friends at FoodShare (we love FoodShare!) helped with this resource list for parents, guardians, and teachers who want a better understanding of food access issues, classism, and systemic racism so we can talk to our kids about it. There are articles, videos, and podcasts for different kinds of learners. (If you’re looking for a local food justice organization to support, FoodShare is definitely worth considering.)

Digging deeper

• “Meet some of Toronto’s food justice advocates championing Black food sovereignty”: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/black-food-sovereignty-toronto-food-advocates-1.5857154
• “The History of Food in Canada is the History of Colonialism”: https://thewalrus.ca/the-history-of-food-in-canada-is-the-history-of-colonialism/
• “WhyHunger Podcast Ep. 2: Karen Washington”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIVaLks3U4E
• “A Reading List for Learning About Race and Food”: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/a-reading-list-for-learning-about-race-and-food-article
• “Dismantling Racism in the food system”: https://foodfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/DR1Final.pdf
• “When Did Recipe Writing Get So…Whitewashed?”: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/recipe-writing-whitewashed
• “Alison Roman, Bon Appétit, and the Global Pantry Problem”: https://www.eater.com/2020/5/20/21262304/global-pantry-alison-roman-bon-appetit

Food Justice in the classroom and at home: free lesson plans

FoodShare has created a series of food justice lesson plans for use in the classroom that can also inform and inspire at-home conversations with kids (and grownup learning). It’s called Cook What you Love, Love What you Eat: A Food Justice Workshop Series.

Please tell us what you think.

Would you please take this very short, 4-question survey to share your thoughts with us? We’d especially like to hear from parents and guardians, students, and school staff. Thank you!

Thank you

Equinox School Council thanks Cheyenne Sundance for her sharing of time and experience, for her care for children, and for her work in the food justice movement.

We also thank FoodShare for being excellent, and for supporting us with the extra learning resources.

We acknowledge this conversation would not be possible without the land we learn and live on, which are the traditional territories of the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Anishnabeg, and the Mississaugas of the Credit, stewarded with Indigenous knowledge and wisdom for millenia. And we encourage others to take up Cheyenne’s invitation to learn more about LANDBACK.

Thank you to Toronto District School Board’s Parent Advisory Committee and the Ontario Ministry of Education for the support and funding for this project.

Please feel welcome to show these videos at home and in classrooms and to share this resource with school and other learning communities.