Nestled in an Ottawan community center, Parkdale Food Centre is innovating the way food banks develop programming. Instead of food distributions, young participants have multiple ways to address food insecurity and financial instability by building a sturdy foundation in financial literacy and entrepreneurship through the food industry.
Sho Aoyama gained success as a Chinese-born Japanese chemical engineer. Yet, after years of multinational assignments he knew he needed a change. Thinking turned to action after witnessing the terror surrounding the 2016 Paris attacks. Sho was then inspired to found the WASHO Cooking Classes in his hometown of Osaka, Japan. He saw his opportunity to finally settle down and have the world come to him.
The Food Activist
A woman of many headwraps, Tambra Raye Stevenson is a Washington, DC-based food activist. The two words—food and activist–may not seem to bond but sharing time with Tambra leads you to understand their connection.
For me, preparing and serving food is a sacred ritual. Each month at my Washington yoga studio, Bhakti Yoga DC, we hold a Saturday “yoga lunch,” where we serve a meal to our community. The food is vegetarian, ayurvedic, holistic, and prepared as an offering of love. Every month’s menu is different, drawn from different parts of my experience.
“I have a recipe for you,” Grandpa announced. I was finishing up college, but it was Christmas break and I’d traveled with my father to his hometown in rural Arkansas. Grandpa waved a scrap of paper in the air encouragingly, so I opened my journal and copied it down: