FoodShare’s Paul Taylor on the links between race and food insecurity

Read the full article by Toronto Life “When you’re Black, you’re at greater risk of everything that sucks”: FoodShare’s Paul Taylor on the links between race and food insecurity”

Paul Taylor, the Executive Director of FoodShare, is leading the way for institutional change from inside and out of the organization. Through his personal experience of living in poverty and being food insecure, Paul Taylor is challenging the idea that charity and food leftovers are the key to solving food insecurity. He is going straight to the root. Poverty, racism and colonialism. The connection is not hard to see, especially not after multiple cities including Toronto have announced that racism is a public health crisis.

“Black people are 3.56 times more likely to be food insecure than White people in Canada. We also found that 36 per cent of Black kids live in food-insecure households, compared to just 12 per cent of White kids. “

The only way to eliminate food insecurity is to dismantle the structures that ultimately cause it and FoodShare is leading the way in that work through GoodFood Markets, research, opportunities to grow, and even changing the pay structure within the organization.

On June 30 at 2 p.m. FoodShare is hosting a panel discussion called Black Women on Black Food Sovereignty that features Karen Washington (USA), Community food advocate and Co-founder of Black Urban Growers; Leticia Deawuo (Canada), Black Creek Community Farm Director; Deirdre (Dee) Woods (UK), Good food ‘action-ist’ and Co-founder of Granville Community Kitchen; Cheyenne Sundance (Canada), Founder of Sundance Harvest Urban Farm; And panel moderator is Rosie Mensah, a Toronto based Registered Dietician and member of the FoodShare Board of Directors.

For more information or to register visit https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/black-women-on-black-food-sovereignty-tickets-110015936628