Community Oven Renee Bujold & Courtney Parsons March 27th, 2018 Sustainable food initiatives, such as community ovens, provide individuals with an opportunity to participate in programs that aim to address various social justice issues that contribute to the inequitable distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within our food system. While current literature about community ovens is limited, community kitchens were determined to have similar benefits as they have similar programming concepts and mainly differ in structural design, where kitchens are within an enclosed building and ovens in an outdoor space. Community ovens are designed to be an informal gathering place that provides shelter and facilitates positive social engagement through the sharing of knowledge and emotional support. They have the ability to address issues such as food insecurity, social marginalization, and poor health, and can have positive impacts on stress, individual empowerment and confidence levels, as well as improve self-efficacy through increased food knowledge and food skills (Cashion, et al. 2014). Community ovens build capacity and resilience within a community by creating a space for social support networks to be developed, and are often seen as a less stigmatising option for obtaining food when compared to food banks, thus being the preferred option. Additionally, they can contribute to a community’s economic growth through programs and events, which attract an influx of people to the surrounding area. Community ovens are located within public spaces that are managed by community organizations, agencies, or government-run programmes (Fridman, et al. 2013). Programs should put emphasis on cooking fruits and vegetables, bread, meat, and traditional dishes, where community members can enjoy preparing meals and eating together (Iacovou, et al. 2012). These programs do much more than just educate participants to make healthy food choices, but also enable participants’ reconnect with their food, culture, with the land, and with each other (Mundel, et al. N.D). It is essential to have open channels of communication between potential users of community ovens and organizers of its programmes to ensure that the oven is accessible. By engaging collaboratively with multiple community members and stakeholders who have a variety of interests centered on a health focused food system will allow for effective community oven development. It is important, however, to recognize that community ovens are just one viable community food initiative, and are more effective when an element of an entire repertoire of initiatives that strive for a more socially just and sustainable food system. Community food initiatives contribute to more a socially just and sustainable system. Community ovens are more impactful if they are used in collaboration with other community food initiatives and organizations. Some specific organizations in the Town of Wolfville would include the Wolfville Farmer’s Market, the Acadia community farm, the food bank, and the Acadia Food Cupboard. A food initiative such as community gardening is the voluntary cultivation of plants by participation of community members, with supportive gardening activities. They are a sustainable intervention that combines physical activity, improved access to fresh produce, and education to support culturally tailored healthy living. They also enhance landscapes, reduce crime rates, and increase property values (Cashion, et al. 2014). A community garden in close relation to the oven, would therefore compliment the ovens programs, as the ingredients procured from the garden could be used during cooking activities or by individuals within the community. Food initiatives like community ovens are often evaluated through measuring their effectiveness at addressing individual-level food security, where their impact on household food resources, or behaviour change 50
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