Food Aid Project Launched to Help Low-income Black Households

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed     Eno Akan-Essien, director of support services, Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP)

 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP) has launched a project that distributes food aid packages to low-income African, Caribbean & Black (ACB) households in Toronto.  

The AYA Project, which started over the Easter weekend from the agency’s seed funds, provides grocery packages consisting of a combination of basic food items that are culturally specific and can sustain a household for up to two weeks.  There are two types of packages: family and individual.

Eno Akan-Essien, director of support services, says the official launch of the project was held on May 1 and their fundraising goal to sustain the project is $50,000. They are accepting donations for its long-term sustainability.

The initial plan was to provide groceries to fifty of their clients fortnightly but they recently heard from some non-clients who are in precarious situations and also in need of packages.

“And we had a request from eight trans women and fifteen youth who are really precariously housed,” she said, noting that they want to provide for all those in need of food.

“As an agency people usually come to us and with social distancing measures in place…. We thought it would be great if we reached out to people to offer something practical.”

She said the majority of people that Black CAP serves are newcomers and they are not eligible for the emergency relief funds and different types of monetary aid that people are getting in the province.

These are people who already struggle with food insecurity so the agency thought it would be “a good way for us to reach out to people in a practical way and at least bridge that gap.”

Akan-Essien acknowledged that there are food banks and other ways in which the government is set up to help people but these are not familiar foods for people who are new to the country so the AYA Project provides culturally appropriate food “that people already know how to cook.”

“You can imagine a person who is at home with a bunch of children and this is not necessarily the time when they’re trying to be adventurous and figure out how to make something of a box or can of something they don’t know.”

She said, however, if they are given food they know “they can not only cook it but they can figure out ways to make it stretch. That is comfort, there’s something you know; it feels good.”

It also provides a bit of respite for them from anxiety because of the uncertainties they are experiencing around the halting of immigration processes for now.

To ensure social distancing, Akan-Essien and her team are delivering the food packages to their doorsteps.

“Of course, the reception is grand. Who doesn’t want a box of saltfish, red snapper and avocado, sweet potatoes and just wonderful things that you know coming to your door and you don’t have to go anywhere to source it.”

Akan-Essien said there are limits in many places regarding food quantity but fortunately they found Black grocers who are willing to not put a limit on what they can purchase.

“Because they are themselves a part of this same community they are willing to work with us to make it more affordable and extend our reach,” she said.

Nief Neamatt, communications coordinator of Black CAP, said the aim for the AYA Project is for it to be self-sustainable so they have developed an online page for people to donate monthly or to make a one-time donation.

They are in need of volunteer drivers to deliver the packages and all such volunteers will undergo an interview process.

“Now more than ever, the ACB community needs your support. Food is one of the most basic of needs. The ever-growing economic instability due to job loss and ineligibility for financial support makes it difficult to meet those obligations,” says Black CAP.

The agency chose the Adinkra symbol, Aya – a fern leaf – representing resilience and perseverance from its branding to name the project with the hope that they will be able to continue nourishing their clients and more.