Vancouver Preserved Food Fair Ying Tang
Contents
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Research
Objectives
Deliverables
Research
Design question For this project, students were asked to conduct design research in groups, and individually develop a system that focuses on intergenerational learning and preserved food. The design question that was given to the class was:
How can we engage elders and youths to increase food resilience, while promoting inter-generational learning?
Food resilience Food resilience is to allow a system to have the capacity to recover from unexpected changes, and continue to develop. Due to industrial agriculture and the fast pace of living in cities, we are disconnected from the food that we eat everyday. We rely heavily on imported produce, which depends on oil vulnerable resources to be transported to our supermarkets.
Food preservation The decreasing support of local production and natural food education can create great risks in our food system if unexpected changes happen. Thus, it is important to learn skills that can help us overcome these challenges, and support local food produces. One way to support food resilience will be food preservation. Through various preservation techniques, we are saving food for the future, and can avoid unnessesary food waste.
Sustainability
Affected negatively by
Consumerism and Conspicous consumption Decrease of local opportunity
Reliance on oil-vulnerable transportation methods
Climate change
Globalization and economics
Natural disaster
Overpopulation
Prevented & reduced by
Mapping
Lack of motivation in changing lifestyle Elders' physical accessibility
Personal Interests
Decrease in local food trade Special requirements in skill sets and knowledge
Food Resilience
Barriers
Community awareness in social change
Elders Dedicated to environmental awareness
Stakeholders
Connecting with people Youths Share skill sets & knowledge
Nutrition value in food preservation Time and money management Lack of educational knowledge
Goal Cultural traditions and practices
Education If s uc ce ssf ul
Generation age gaps (diffculties in connecting youth and elders)
Reduce fuel usage
Not prioritized in current school system
Benefits
Supporting local business
Limited access Reduce diet related disease (direct access to fresh food)
Sustainable living with others and creating strong bond with community
To understand the importance of food resilience, and how can it affect us, my research group created a mapping chart in order to gain a holistic view how different social aspects are interconnected and affects food relisience in a global scale.
Potluck interview Our class also held a potluck event, where we invited youths to share their knowledge and thoughts related to food preservation. The question we asked included: 1. Can you deďŹ ne the term Food Preservation? 2. Do you eat preserved food? 3. Do you preserve food? 4. Are you interested in learning new methods and more about the topic? 5. What do you think are the beneďŹ ts of homemade preserved food? 6. How would you share/ pass down knowledge of food preservation to others?
Probe booklet Our research group designed a probe booklet, and asked elders about the barriers they faced when trying to pass down their knowledge. We also involved elders with different cultural backgrounds to see how their culture affect their food preservation practices.
Findings Elders are enthusiastic to teach their preserved food skills, but they lack a platform to meet individuals that are interested. Youths that are interested in food preservation doesn’t know where to find reliable food experts in the community. Many youths want to taste the preserved food first before learning the techniques because they think preserving requires a lot of time and dedication.
Objectives
Promote inter-generational learning
Based on my findings, I started to develop the design goals that I want to achieve in my final deliverable. I wanted to create a platform where elders are able to share their techniques and experiences to youths. The space will also allow youths to learn about food preservation and ask questions.
Connect with local farmers
The platform should also be encouraging individuals to connect with the local farming community and learn more about local produce.
Explore food resilience
Participants should be able to taste a variety of preserved food and discover what kind of recipes they want to learn. The solution should also allow individuals to engage in behaviours that are related to food resilience.
Seasonal food fair I eventually decided to develop a seasonal food fair that allows elders and youths to engage in knowledge sharing activities related to food resilience and preservation. It will also collaborate with local farmers, where they will promote themselves, and also act us educators. There will be a different theme for each event based on the season and suggestion from participants. (ex: Sharing preserved food from your culture)
Event overview Seasonal preserved food fair
Participants bring healthy preserved food
Share food and knowledge in different activities
Collecting feedback and advices from participants
Storyboard: Vancouver Preserved Food Fair
1. Finding existing assets
Event organizers
Farmer’s Market Members
To hold the food fair, event Organizers will collaborate with the local farmer’s market. Since the organization is very well established in Vancouver, they have existing resources and contacts within the food community that the organizers can use.
2. Inviting local farmers
Through existing assets, organizers will contact local farmers and invite them to sell their excessive produce (food that are rejected because of their looks) in the fair.
3. Promotion & advertising
Universities & Community Centres
Farmer’s Market
Promotion materials will be placed in multiple locations in order to reach out to both youths and elders.
Promotion brochure
The brochure will include registration information, event description, and also the requirements to join the event
Illustration designed by Freepik and The Noun Project
Promotion brochure
Illustration designed by Freepik and The Noun Project
Requirements In order to join the event, participants are required to bring a dish of healthy preserved food. The food can be homemade or purchased. A website about food preservation ( www.wellpreserved.ca ) is provided in the brochure if participants need additional information. Participants also need to bring their own food container to the event.
4. Joining the event
Online (Meetup)
Register by Phone
There will be two different registration ways to make sure individuals are all able to join the event. Individuals can sign up online through the event website meetup, or they can register by phone if they’re not familiar with the computer
5. Arriving at the fair
During the event, individuals will receive a guidebook once they arrive.
Event guidebook The book will explain what the event is about and why is it important to have activities like this It will also explain the event’s theme and also provide an event schedule There will also be pages where participants can write notes since the event is about knowledge sharing. A list of contact methods will be provided if individuals wants to receive updates for future fairs. In this way, the booklet can also act as a promotion material if participants want to recommend the event to their friends and family in the future.
Event guidebook
Illustration designed by Freepik
Event guidebook
6. Starting the event
After entering the fair, participants will first place their food in the designated area. Then, they can then look around and socialize with others.
6. Starting the event
Farmers will set up their own stalls where they will sell their produce. They will also bring preserved food that are made by their own produce for the potluck and also for sale. By buying directly from farmers, individuals are supporting local farming. Moreover, buying their excessive produce reduces unnecessary food waste and supports food resilience.
7. Potluck activity
Questions related to event theme
General questions about food preservation
Before eating the potluck, Participants will be separated into different groups and play a game with two sets of question cards: one set will be focusing on questions related to the event theme, and the another one will be general questions about food preservation.
8. Potluck
After the activity, participants will start the potluck with their group members, where they will continue to share their topics. While eating, individuals will learn about the difference between homemade and purchased preserved food.
9. Taking out food
When the potluck ends, individuals can take the remaning food of the potluck with their own containers. By doing this, they are participating in a behaviour that supports food resilience by preventing unnecessary food waste.
10. Collecting feedback
Before ending the event, organizers will ask the individuals for advice and suggestions for the next event. Depending on the feedback and popularity of the first few events, the organizers may add more fairs each season, or they may develop a toolkit to spread the event, and allow different local communities to connect with each other.