There is an emerging movement in our city surrounding food security, demonstrated in the influx of community gardens surfacing at various parks and streets. According to City of Vancouver's website on Food Policy and Community Gardens, we have approximately 1600 community garden plots and 900 community-shared plots integrated in various development projects around the city. At the same time, as a country relying heavily on immigration for growth and development, there exists a parallel trend in the flow of immigrants, refugees, and migrant workers.

This is the first part of a collaborative blog series by myself, Vivian Xudan Pan, and my colleague Marina Prado Nogueira. We have started this series because we see great potential in merging these two movements to create something positive and of value that addresses social justice and environmental sustainability. In examining the current dynamics and make up of community gardens, we have found that they are composed of a predominantly white middle class demographic. In order for food security to serve its purpose in providing healthy, ethical, and attainable food, we believe it should be inclusive, addressing the multicultural nature of Vancouver. We think it's important for our progressive city to be critical by acknowledging Canada as an immigrant nation -- one that brings this discussion to the forefront of national food policy.

Food is our common source of energy. Its power is rooted in the foundations of its origin, which can be identified cross-culturally as a source of pleasure and health to be shared. Vancouver is a beautiful city; however, if one looks beyond the vast landscapes marked by the North Shore Mountains and the hydrological basin of the Fraser River, streets and alleyways of infinite human connections, disconnections, relations and dislocations exist. Our city hosts one of the largest immigrant demographics in the world -- and this sector is embarking on further rapid growth in the near future.

Viewing Vancouver through this lens, we see a space of multi-cultural and ethnic celebration challenged by the social and economic ramifications that outbreak as a result of adjustment to such changes. This is where the role of community integration comes in as a tool that acknowledges and embraces the commonality that we all have in food. People are thinking more about food beyond just our culinary choices. Food is a political act -- and in this way, it's capable of empowering people to make ethical choices -- choices that benefit our future.

Amongst concerns of housing and education, there has also been an increasing awareness on environmental sustainability, triggering a movement within the last decade towards building a "greener city". There are many ways city folks can grow towards a more sustainable lifestyle, in which all levels of decision-making in the city play a part in determining how these changes take effect.

We believe here that the transition toward a more vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable community starts with something important -- a sense of belonging. The more we feel included and connected to one another, the more empowered we are in making a difference in our community by taking care of what we belong to. The space that lies beyond our private yards and nuclear social relations holds the chance to build more cohesive and inclusive communities, which extends our creativity, capability and capacity to thrive as urban citizens.

A recent concern about all of this? The level of food security we currently hold in Vancouver. Food security is about the ability to access sufficient, safe, ethical and nutritious foods -- knowing that our city has the capacity to meet the basic food needs of its people. Oil-based resources, from synthetic fertilizers to herbicides and machine-run farms, are all unsustainable -- and these environmentally detrimental practices drive our conventional mass-produced food system.

What do we really believe, then? That decreasing our reliance on imported produce, on any scale, is beneficial to our modern lives. That increasingly effervescent urban agriculture can't neglect various social and economic conditions of people living in the cities. That financial resources shouldn't restrict one from accessing land and tools needed to garden. We have found that urban gardening possesses great potential to improve food security in our city by creating a space of inclusive participation from diverse communities. This series is geared by our curiosity about the dynamics of social integration of low-income, immigrant, new-comers, and First Nations in Vancouver.

In this series, we aim to display the potential of food security programs such as community gardens, community kitchens, local markets, healthy eating courses, artisanal food caning, etc. to enhance social integration, improving peoples' sense of belonging and empowerment in the city. Our ultimate goal? To promote the value of building earnest communities rooted in urban gardens by showcasing current food initiatives. We believe community gardens and other food security programs can be stages for social change from Montreal to the Vancouver East Side, and we intend to prove it to you.

So check back each week for new examples of "Growing Community Roots" -- and in the meantime, discuss what you think about this all with us. We'd love to hear what you have to say.

This article has been written in collaboration between Marina Prado Nogueira and Vivian Xudan Pan. Photo courtesy of Marina Prado Nogueira.