Community kitchen gets land to feed people

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Marlene Hale gave up high-paying jobs at five-star restaurants to teach people living with HIV/AIDS how to cook nutritious meals on a budget. Now, thanks to partnerships with the University of British Columbia, the City of Vancouver and the Musqueam First Nation, her students will gain access to an-eighth of an acre of fertile land to grow vegetables to supplement their diet.

By providing field space and farm staff expertise, the UBC Farm Aboriginal Community Kitchen Garden Project builds on existing ties between the farm and the Musqueam Community Kitchen, and benefits eight Aboriginal community groups in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, including the Vancouver Native Health Society, the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre and the Ray-Cam Network.

"A lot of Aboriginal people don't eat enough vegetables, especially those affected by HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and diabetes," said Hale, who runs a cooking class at Healing Our Spirit, an organization supporting Aboriginal people living with HIV/AIDS.

"People with HIV/AIDS are very restricted in the food they can eat. Out of the 10 students I have, four don't eat at all because of the medication they're on," said Hale. "The other big challenge is the high cost of fresh produce. A good majority of our clients are low-income and simply can't afford to buy the amount of vegetables required in a healthy diet."

That's where the project comes in. The new field space provides organic vegetables that Hale can incorporate into the recipes she teaches.

Participants in the project, including Hale's students, carpool to UBC Farm three times a week to water, weed and harvest crops while farm staff-and later on students from UBC's Faculty of Land and Food Services-offer advice and assistance in finding sources for seeds and harvesting.

The project officially launched in early July with a salmon barbecue and bannock bake-off at UBC Farm, bringing together all the partners for the first time.

"As an Aboriginal person, I feel like a trespasser when I'm working on someone else's land without properly acknowledging it," said Hale. "By sharing a feast with and handing out gifts to our witnesses, we ask for and are granted use of the land by UBC and the Musqueam."

Hale said the healing properties of land and food are proving to be just what her students needed.

"The farm is such a safe learning environment," said Hale. "Since the project began, my students have already become more conscious about eating their greens.

"The exercise of growing their own food has also brought back something more substantial in their lives-a sense of connecting with the land, which many haven't felt since they were young and living in rural areas."

Working on the project has been a tremendously rewarding experience for Hale herself.

"A lot of people I teach are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, so eating a healthy diet isn't always high on their list of concerns," she said.

"I'm like a mother to them. Seeing their reaction on the farm and in the kitchen, and knowing they are eating more healthily really gives me a sense of satisfaction that working at places like the Vancouver Club never did."