Food security refers to an individual's access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that fulfills their dietary needs. During my co-op work term at the Youth Clinic, I designed and ran a program that examined food security issues among at-risk youth. The program ran once a week for a period of three months. It offered youth a healthy meal and interesting conversation about different diets and ways to access and cook healthy food, and it also helped the youth look critically at the food they consume. We served the meal at 4:30 p.m. each afternoon, and for many of the youth, this was the first meal they'd had all day. I also held discussions with a few youth about their food consumption, and they told me it was easy to get as much bread or baked goods as they wanted, but vegetables and fruits were hard to come by.

During my co-op work term, I came to understand that for many of these youth, their daily diet depends on which foods happen to be donated to food banks and free food services. Currently, all of the food banks in Victoria, including our food cupboard, are very short of all kinds of food, especially nutritious food of good quality. Examples of nutritious donation items that are highly appreciated include whole wheat pastas and crackers; rice, quinoa and other grains; low-sodium soup; dried fruit and nuts; bean, lentil, minestrone or split pea soup; canned beans (kidney, garbanzo, pinto, baked etc.); canned tuna, chicken, ham or salmon; unopened dairy products and fresh fruit and produce.

We have been very fortunate to get a City of Victoria grant to start the process of introducing healthy meals and education to the street youth who attend the Youth Clinic. I will be trained as a family food skills facilitator through the Canadian Diabetes Association, which will enable us to offer free Food Skills workshops to people on a limited budget or to new immigrants. This series of six workshops encourages people to eat better for less, through cooking new recipes and eating together. Participants will also take food home with them. The James Bay Community Project always appreciates donations to our food security programs and we thank you for your contributions!