African Nova Scotian and Black Food Sovereignty
Staff Member Jess Ross recently attended a powerful webinar called “Advancing Black/African Nova Scotian Food Security and Sovereignty: Strategies and Solutions”, featuring a presentation by:
Wendie Wilson- Educator & NS Coalition for Healthy School Food Steering Committee Member
Cheyenne Jones- African Nova Scotian & Black Community Food Coordinator
Nickaya Parris- Registered Dietitian & Member of Halifax’s African Nova Scotian and Black Food Sovereignty Working Group.
Webinar poster from Public Health Agency of Canada- Atlantic Region
This online event was a great opportunity to hear about the unique and active African Nova Scotian and Black Food Sovereignty landscape. Food sovereignty is a human right and a social movement. It highlights aspects of food justice that food security doesn’t address. Food insecurity means not having reliable or enough access to food and it generally doesn’t focus on what kind or quality of food people have or don’t have access to - such as foods that are culturally relevant, or free from pesticides. On the other hand, food sovereignty means exploring how people have or don’t have control over what they are eating. Often, initiatives that aim to improve food security provide emergency relief or stop-gap measures that are delivered topdown, such as food banks. Alternatively, effective food sovereignty initiatives are grassroots or from the bottom up, such as revitalizing Indigenous foodways.
Many communities are working to heal and navigate the effects of systemic racism that have caused many of the devastating food realities for people living in Canada today. The Food Sovereignty movement is focused on addressing how people can get control over their food and increase access to culturally rooted recipes and food- be it through skill-building; cultural exploration; directing and keeping food dollars circulating within the local community; and developing the physical and social spaces for community members to learn and eat together. Within so-called Canada, there are countless initiatives working to advance goals related to Indigenous and Black Food Sovereignty. Reclaiming Our Roots is a local Mi’kmaw organization anchored in youth-centered land-based learning and community stewardship.
Considering that there are over 52 African Nova Scotian Communities and that the culture and cuisine are over 400 years old- it's not surprising that this movement has traction here today.
The recent webinar featured an exploration of the Black Food Sovereignty movement and the uniqueness of African Nova Scotian food culture presented by Wendie Wilson. African Nova Scotian cuisine is shaped by both the land and sea, with strong influences from Continental Africa and the Caribbean. The panel conversation after the presentation with Cheyenne Jones and Nickaya Parris dug deeper into the reality and what is needed to cultivate food sovereignty among African Nova Scotians. Some tangible but challenging goals are control and access to land, investing in communities, boosting African Nova Scotian food culture, protecting intellectual property, and creating spaces for action.
At Nourish Nova Scotia, we are committed to learning from and with local communities and partners to support the African Nova Scotian and Black Food Sovereignty movement. In doing so, we also heed an important, emphasized message from Cheyenne Jones during the webinar: “Great Intentions can cause damage when Black people aren’t in control of their programs and food systems (on all levels)”. This gets at the heart of the food sovereignty movement- ensuring that communities can expand their own control of what and how they eat, together.
Some of the current initiatives happening within this movement locally are:
The integration of Black Food Sovereignty into the unfolding and bold JustFOOD Action Plan, including the creation of African Nova Scotian and Black Food Sovereignty working group
Recipe Projects promoting African Nova Scotian cuisine, like cookbook In the Africville Kitchen: The Comforts of Home
The Blend It Forward Program, a blender-centric cooking series for African Nova Scotians designed and facilitated by Nickaya Parris
Further Learning Links:
1. An Intro to the Food Sovereignty Movement:
https://www2.foodsecurecanada.org/who-we-are/what-food-sovereignty
2. Connecting Food and African Nova Scotian Culture (Chatelaine feature):
https://chatelaine.com/food/african-nova-scotian-cuisine/
3. Going deeper, Podcast Episode (available where podcasts are played): “Disrupting for African Nova Scotian Food Sovereignty”
https://nccdh.ca/learn/podcast/disrupting-for-african-nova-scotian-food-sovereignty
4. Africville Forever Podcast: https://www.africvilleforever.com/episodes