Tell us about yourself and your position at YESS!
Hi! I’m currently the Program Kitchen Coordinator here at YESS. What does that mean? I’m a professionally trained Red Seal Chef that has a passion for food sustainability, cooking, teaching, and gardening, and I get the pleasure of sharing that knowledge and skills with as many people as possible.
My role has changed over the years, but it involves highlighting various cultures by hosting a monthly cultural cooking class and dinners. Other parts of my role include teaching cooking life skills to our youth, running the always expanding garden project, providing groceries and teaching youth how to grocery shop in one of our programs.
Over the past five years, I’ve taken some initiative to expand my own skills in learning about food trauma and body positivity, which I’ve been able to apply in my own practices with staff and youth, working to help recognize and work through some of their own food trauma and/or just to help expand their knowledge and skills.
Day to day you’ll find me wandering around the garden pulling weeds, chatting with youth and staff about food, cooking with youth, coaching with staff, or grocery shopping. After work, you’ll find me playing in my own garden, paddling on the river, cooking, cuddling with my fur son Henry, or playing some sort of sport.
How do you support youth and youth workers with the “food supports and skills” part of the holistic (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual/cultural) assessment?
My role is focused around supporting youth and staff with food support and skills. I like to focus on addressing education, nutrition, and the emotional needs of our youth and staff when providing support to them. This is done by ensuring access to fresh healthy foods, sharing knowledge, hands-on training, and gardening projects.
I gain familiarity with staff and open the conversation by being part of the onboarding process, by teaching kitchen and food safety, as well as our internal processes relating to food service. From there, I continue to offer support and resources to staff as requested.
I try to be as trauma informed and holistic as possible by being flexible when working with youth and meeting them where they’re at. I like to make sure classes are as interactive as the youth wants, realistic, and appropriate for their skill level and capacity.
What is the importance of cultural meals in the spiritual/cultural wellbeing of youth?
Our youth come from a variety of cultures so providing regular cultural meals and cooking classes helps foster healthy connections to heritage and identity, as well as providing educational opportunities to learn about other cultures or share stories about your own culture or family traditions. Having those conversations builds community and connection among our youth and staff, which helps foster respectful relationships. Cultural meals can also provide comfort and a sense of safety among our youth while they may have to navigate unfamiliarity, stress, and change. I really enjoy learning about different cultural foods, sharing what I learn, and being able to provide culture specific foods for youth as requested.
What role does the garden at Whyte play in this connection with food?
The garden project at Whyte is one of my favourite parts of my role, and probably proudest as well. With the closing of Shanoa’s Place earlier this year, and the help of our Volunteer Program Officer and their teams of volunteers, we were able to move that garden over to our Whyte Ave location, and expand our capacity for growing food.
In spending time in the garden, I find the youth often like to hang around and ask questions about what is being grown, when it will be ready, and maybe tell me their favourite things to make using things from the garden.
Gardening in itself can be very grounding, healing, and even meditative. Also, just the benefits of growing your own food is so satisfying.
What is one thing you wish the community knew about youth who access YESS?
One thing I wish the community knew about youth who access YESS is that they are resilient, and resourceful, often facing significant challenges, and still need our support, and understanding while having their needs met.