Building a Food Sovereign Campus
On March 22, 2017, Erik Chevrier, members of the Sustainable Action Fund and CHNGR facilitated a meeting to (1) report back about the preliminary findings of the Concordia Student Run Food Groups Research Project; (2) to present the online archive to the groups that participated in the interviews and get feedback about how the project can serve these groups; and (3) to encourage the student run food groups at Concordia to build a common strategy about increasing food sovereignty on campus.
The meeting was organized by using the World Café method. The World Café has seven design principles, set the context, create hospitable space, explore questions that matter, encourage everyone’s contribution, connect diverse perspectives, listen together for patterns and insights, and share collective discoveries.
The event lasted two hours – from three to five p.m. and took place in the teaching and learning center at Concordia. Each student run food group at Concordia was invited to attend the conference as well as anyone interested in discussing food sovereignty at Concordia. Participants were given tea and snacks and sat at one of ten round tables in the room. Each of the tables had a facilitator who took written notes regarding the conversation at the table. There were three tables of people. A total of nineteen people attended the event.
The session began with a presentation from, Erik Chevrier. He summarized the general findings from phase one of the Concordia Student Run Food Groups Research Project. He introduced the idea of ‘thinking big’ – how can the student-run food groups on campus co-create a food sovereign campus? To answer this, he asked five questions (see below) and facilitated a discussion about the responses. For each question, the participants had ten minutes to brainstorm together at their respective tables – the note takers recorded the discussion by writing down what participants said. Then there was a general report back from each table to the entire group.
Once the session was over, participants were thanked for their time and the note takers submitted their notes to the research team. The research team have made the results available below. Click on the questions below to see the responses.
Questions and Research Findings
QUESTION 1: How can the archive website be improved to address the needs of the student food groups?
ANSWERS
GROUP 1
- Discussion board, chat room for groups and the Concordia community public
- Matt from food idea student groups surcharge
- Differentiate videos thumbnail buy student group unique website Page per student group
- Calendar of workshops map of the group hubs
- YouTube connection
- Overlap of food sustainability ideas amongst students
- For average students interested in sustainability
- Connected outside food initiatives/actions (dumpster diving forums etc).
GROUP 2
- Collaboration possible, collaborate directly with the processors and a waste management people.
- Website to be the link. Like a Facebook page but pages runs on a lot, look another when asked to have resources available and be able to contact. Plus I’m an analytics system, show the numbers to make it compelling, +.
- You careful with the overload of info
- Forum
- The Food guide for other universities
- The fifth column to show how these groups can be links that’s helping each other an update of what they need and can provide
GROUP 3
- I’ve never used the website. I thought it was annoying some videos were broken down into multiple ones; redundant for my eyes. At the same time, I see how it can make them more digestible, I see the benefit of it.
- 9 videos, 9 times the same face.
- Primary video on main page, and then links to go to the snippets.
- Could be platform of communication: “This amount of food we’re not using this week! Somebody wants it?”
- Dividing the videos per section, rather than everything on one page. Classify per Processing, etc. Seems like already exist.
- Keep as an archival thing; there are other ways to communicate between groups and do other things. Pretty simple already; stay an archival. Maybe something else going.
- Kinda agree. A website for a platform for different organizations would be difficult; hard to get people on board. Might waste a lot of time launching that and getting it going. A listserve could do that.
- Unless for a bigger project; for example if this entity was to provide food groups on campus with services (funds, finances,…). Other than that, I wouldn’t communicate with other people.
- Does the website have a mailing-list? I would add one.
- Things for callout; students who want to get involved. Get info about position needs.
- Maybe a link for first years students to add in list of things to do at Concordia at the beginning of the year.
- Internal listserve can be more private than a mailing-list, for people to share about what’s happening and what respective needs are.
- Can be a problem if flooding inboxes.
- I like how Art & Science CSU does it.
- Does a mailing-list become redundant with CFC?
- A mailing-list with everybody else. I don’t get all the working group emails anyway. Could be redundant, could not. Interesting way to be in touch with each other, to stay on top of what’s going on; rather than Facebook for example.
- A way to feed in a Google group?
- People’s Potatoes has a mailing-list for itself. Depends on every organization about how they share info.
- Can we put a Google group inside another one?
- How many people would update information on a central site: 2 people raised their hand to say they would do it.
- It’s time consuming. It’s doable if you do in one place only. Instead of one more thing to do, if it could be done once only it would be better.
- How many people think that if I had an RSS or Facebook style that would be useful: 7 to 8
How many people think that if I had a google calendar that would be useful: 10 to 12
QUESTION 2: Food systems consist of six main parts of a cycle: production, processing, transportation, distribution, consumption and waste management. Is there a way to internalize parts of the cycle at Concordia so that the ‘food system’ can be more self-sufficient? If so, how can the groups on campus now contribute to this? What other food groups/projects may be needed?
ANSWERS
GROUP 1
- Waste management system disconnected from other aspects, connection between waste management project and food groups, improving compost system, get production groups to aid in education
- Re-use board, discarded items at Concordia for public, physical or digital discussion board
- Sharing of facilities and resources, support amongst groups, tools to make this easier.
- Start small with sharing (discussion board), work up to education
- Ask sharing resources-/discarded items.
- Barriers of space money and labor
GROUP 2
- Concordia used to manage its waste on campus (Loyola) but now the University of contracting and Ontario company landfills, Concordia should compost on-site, there is interest.
- Some groups, Target kneads, like food production Target the needs of the groups to provide a better / adapted prod. Is groups become very trustable Concordia to give up some roof space.
- Contact nearby communities for space to grow food. Grey Nuns too or Loyola
GROUP 3
- These are things I’ve been thinking about. Not sure if CFC’s goal and mission will change. We created to take over food production on campus. This is the question of it all.
- 2019: new consortium bid coming up.If CFC to apply to that bid, would need huge source of production.
- Need Production AND Processing. Distribution is pretty good. Would be nice to take over services like on residence.
- Hard to know what other orgs can take or provide.There are no suitable options to feed that many people.
- The Hudson Community Project is there, but they don’t exist yet. They also have the ambition to feed the Hudson community. Would take a long time to provide food to Concordia.
- The Hive looking to expand; dramatically but not immediately. Working with master business students to identify opportunities on campus. Goal is to kick out the multinational in place at the time it happens.Part of a convo with profs and students to start to envision what a much larger Hive could look like.
- Originally, the University wouldn’t give service offers to non-experienced groups like the Hive. Now the Hive is breaking even.
- One initiative is taking the community spaces that Aramark and ???. Aramark currently takes the space for community events for Holiday Meal,… Profs see it as Aramark being the community facilitator. Hive, People’s Potatos,… could take over those spaces and be recognized by more people in the community (profs, other students,…).
- Need profs on the board.Group of groups: we’re not taking the community space.
- Lack of transportation and storage for People’s Potato: use the same ingredients through the year and buy regularly, and depend on fluctuating price.
- Would be nice to buy the harvest all together at once and store it in some sort of warehouse. Option is in new building in Pointe-Saint-Charles (Bâtiment 7).
- Concordia’s own farm?
- McGill MacDonald school: what is their production?
- Something that might have been forgotten. A few years ago CSU spent a lot of money to get detailed plans for greenhouse at Loyola. City rejected it. But maybe the city wouldn’t reject smaller plans. There could be money and a mandate for CSU to support it.
- Could become an identity thing for the University. Good for PR.
- Wouldn’t be able to provide enough food for everything, but would provide some.
- Waste management is not deemed adequate at Concordia by participants.
Discussion board to share resources: about 5 - Engage Business and Engineering students more. Interdisciplinary spaces or studies.
- Space is an issue for production, but also for Waste Management. And processing.
- For space issues, might need to team up with non-food groups.
CSU sitting on a huge space fund. - Administration have lots of space.
QUESTION 3: How can we imagine a food-sovereign campus at Concordia University? What would system look like and how can we create it?
ANSWERS
GROUP 1
- Importance of accessibility, different ties, free, cheap, grab and go, full meals
- Internalizing production is unrealistic
- Hudson community for 10% agricultural land, “Land Trust” model Concordia research project on land similar to the Saint-Ann-de-Bellevue McGill farming campus engagement between initiatives
- Interdependency is more realistic, feasible and safe, local connection, ethical companies to partnership with
- On campus bakery
- Use Hudson Farms to help students gain experience and connected programs
- Hudson farm to help reuse compost waste
- Slowly taking over more food areas in concordia rather than outsourcing
- Highlighting current successes (Hive)
- Bridging the gap between art and finance initiative with the economic and engineering initiatives
GROUP 2
- Motivate the students: Get everyone to participate. Incentives, money, credits, food.
- Rooftop spaces
- Gambling up, go beyond pilot projects
- Strengthen and even more the culture
- Incubator support
GROUP 3
- Where the food is coming from? There’s the City-farm school.
– What if Concordia did its own Hudson farm? Very long-term project. Full–time students can’t really take it on (time, turnover,…). Students could contribute or volunteer.
– If Food Studies Program: coop internship at the farm. Fieldwork and classes at the same time (if money can be found for it). - Turnover issue is really the crunch. Institutional history doesn’t stay.
- 2 models can be looked at:
– Norway Student welfare organizations. Lots of students on Boards. Other people on the Boards are University members and profs.
– UdeM: advanced network of coops. Not super engaging for students, but still interesting. - A big project like this can redesign the purpose of what a University is.
– This can go outside of University.
– Role of University in community. - Bridging the gap btw Business students and Engineering students. JMSB are so segregated; maybe because of mindset taught in school. Maybe that could be a way to bridge.
– There is a Sustainable group at JMSB. - A Community Dinner could be a good way to bring together a lot of Business, Engineering students, and also profs!
- Does the University own Burritoville’s space? No.
- More meeting like this. Probably one of the better attended thing I’ve seen in a while. Should have introduced ourselves at the beginning.
– Find a platform where those things [like this event today] can happen. Virtually it’s different and takes time, but can still happen. Maybe it can be a thing every month or every other month.
– Even if we work in the same building; ppl are doing their own thing.
– What about a regular meeting, every 2 or 3 months?
– Could be a good way to determine collective goals, what the capacity of every organization is (some orgs don’t have the capacity to be involved with changing food systems). - Food Groups can be the anchor to get lots of people to contribute to the work.
- We may as well look at the Hive that thinks to expand distribution. It’s the vision of the Hive to take over the Distribution aspect at Concordia, and it is taking steps toward it. Masters Business Students are working on it currently, looking at feasibility; this builds the credibility of the project. Could make sense for the Hive to lead the taking over of the Distribution of the food system.
- Need to know the quantities we need: how many chickens do we need, how many carrots, how many calories…?
- Collaboration needed with student groups and with faculty (e.g. research on food, culinary,…), like what is happening at Dawson.
QUESTION 4: How can we encourage groups/individuals who are interested in food sovereignty to work together? How can we create new partnerships and strengthen existing partnerships on campus at Concordia? What are the barriers to forming partnerships, and how would we overcome these barriers?
ANSWERS
GROUP 1
- Barrier of adequate training, costs of certification
- Subsidies for food certification offered by Concordia University
- Making needs transparent
- Limit of farmers markets, not generating enough income, too much effort
- Barrier of time, almost impossible for coordinators to meet, specific people internal or external to focus on a connection between groups, celebration event harvest party, bite me week
- Ordering items in bulk, bulk buying amongst groups
- By me week as an opportunity for groups (internal and external) to come together
- Relationship building and have to be fun (food etc).
- Needs and assets map
GROUP 2
- Sustainability boils down to interdisciplinary team
- Reoccurring issues of space
- Recording the champions events like CFCs, structure networking events
- Online for around see funding for increased impact
- Simplify events for networking, no need to be large
- Barriers – research-complementary, different levels
- Federation?
- Downside: , Time, inefficiency
- + +Plus weight
GROUP 3
- Would be good to have another meeting that is more a strategic planning thing. Shared goals, actionable and tasks to be dispersed, with knowing that we’ll come back together.
– Those meetings should have an agenda, well-facilitated, for collaborative programming.
– When everybody is in the room together, it’s easier to get people to commit to something and discuss their limits. - Project to engage the average student: groups that are not currently engaged.
– They are many programs that require voluntarian efforts to enter them. And there is a lack of knowledge about the food systems on campus.
– How do you involve people who are looking to get involved?
– A lot of students don’t want to get involved. They’re buyers. => Focus on the people who already want to get involved. - For long-term projects: need a Board, an anchor. A bigger group on top of all the groups in case of big projects.
- Can the CFC transform into something like this
– The CFC would like to work with Erik and Kim to be part of it and make it happen.
– That’s what the CFC was intended to be, but until this year the focus was on the consortium bid. Now the shift is toward supporting more the food groups.
– There was only one part-time staff and even with two part-time people now, it’s hard to do everything.
– Coordinating collective meetings could be possible.
– Funding: there is a gap between the Administration and the Food Groups, therefore harder to develop projects. Can CFC facilitate the funding to happen? - Possibility to bring up Food at the public consultations hosted to discuss the new University Sustainability Policy. Getting food on the agenda of University for its Sustainability.
– Sustainability Coordinator at Concordia invited all students group to partake in a consultation. Next Monday, 6 to 9pm in the Z Annex. - The pieces to do this are all in place, but not being used strategically.
- Networking events.
- Space is the biggest issue with all projects. Central point of discussions in a group today.
- Need to define what kind of partnerships we talk about.
- Collaborating with other circles (Eng. or Biz students). Are we ready to engage with people who might not necessarily speak the same language as us? Tools, patience, emotional energy,…
QUESTION 5: How can we encourage groups and people to think big about the ‘food system’ at Concordia? Would people be interested in forming a lose federation of food groups at Concordia? If so, what would it look like?
ANSWERS
GROUP 1
GROUP 1
GROUP 3
- How many people would think they’d like to participate: about 80 to 85%
- How could it function?
- Intention to create a meeting in particular for the Hive, about how it might look after its current transformation. Opportunity to tag along maybe.
- CFC would be down to coordinate the facilitation of this kind of thing. The CFC was created to do this and now focuses more on working groups. More recently have been wondering how to bring people together.
- Other groups might be more spread thin in terms of time and resources. This wouldn’t spread the CFC too extra to help with this project.
- CHNGR at Concordia: interested in seeing Social Economy projects thrive. As most food groups are in the social economy, it would fall in the mandate to support some kind of federation. As not a food group, would be auxiliary support.
Raw Data
