Are You A Village? Sustainable Food, Sustainable Community

It's Christmas Eve, and we've just placed our gifts under the Christmas tree. My daughter is asleep. We spent the afternoon and evening with my family, taking a walk, playing a game, and eating dinner together. Soon it will be Christmas morning, and we'll enjoy our gifts and our breakfast, then go to the grandparents' place for dinner. On our way down to our Christmas Eve celebrations, we passed by a house fire. The fire had been burning since the early morning. The home was ruined. The family did not have insurance. The family needs everything - food, clothing, pots and pans. While they have good jobs, they also have nothing now and need everything. This is a time when they will need to fall back on their community and hope that the community can support them.

I've written about the need to get to know your neighbours and the fact that this is essential for food security. It's also important to support your neighbours in times of need. I don't mean anonymous support, either. I also mean tangible offers of food, of clothing, of a helping hand. This doesn't need to be only in times of crisis - this can be on joyful occasions, like Christmas. Sharing food with neighbors is an important part of building community.

Yesterday I also dropped off some food for a friend who recently had surgery. The food was for the evening, but our chat was important too. I don't expect reciprocity. In fact, I think that most of us hope to never need a helping hand, whether it is given through food, through a place to stay, or through charities in the community. And some of us never need this, and some do, and some may need this more than once.

I also volunteer for an organization called The Edible Garden Project, a food security organization that encourages people to grow food for those in need. The food we help grow and share is donated to a local food bank, to a veteran's association, to a social housing complex and to a food box program for seniors. We also encourage everyone to come out and grow food together, sharing and learning as we go. In this organization I have found a wonderfully giving and gracefully sharing group.

Part of building a secure and food secure community is building a community that shares openly and willingly in times of crisis. While this is a time of year when we are asked to give, and to give a lot, cultivating that ethic and maintaining it in our daily lives throughout the year can be challenging. Life is busy, it's hard to pause to share food, to give food, to grow food for and with others. Yet it is so important. Just like sharing a special feast day with family is important, building a community that shares food all year round is critical to creating a secure and sustainable neighborhood.

Who is your village? Who shares food with you?