Will Allen and the farmers at SOLEfood

In this month’s newsletter, our focus is on all things food-related. We discuss the recent hiring of outreach workers by the Downtown Eastside Kitchen Tables Project. This initiative is a collaboration between Potluck Cafe and Catering and the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House which aims to change the food system in the neighbourhood.  We also detailed our meeting with Growing Power’s Will Allen, an urban farmer who has accomplished amazing things, and his visit to SOLEfood farm.  

To read more, please see the newsletter in full:

February Employment Newsletter

 Other items featured this month include:

• Event Listings
• Job Postings

Let us know what you think!

This month is all about celebration. The Supported Employment Team completed our 1000th intake, a huge milestone for BOB! There was a new graduating class from the Cycleback Bicycle Repair Program. As well, we celebrate the life of Leo Buswa, a client and hardworking farmer at SOLEfood Urban Farm.  

From left to right: Tony from Pathways; Kathy, our 1000th intake; and Ada from BOB.

 To read more, please see the newsletter in full:

November Employment Newsletter

Other items featured this month include:

• Event Listings
• Job Postings

Here at BOB, we are committed to connecting our clients with businesses that realize how important a

nd beneficial it is to hire locally.  It is especially exciting for the Supported Employment Team when a client we have placed goes above and beyond at the workplace. This month, we have highlighted the story of David, who is one of those exemplary employees.

David is working at Calabash Bistro

Read more about David’s work at Calabash Bistro here:

SEPNewsletter – Sept 2010.

Other stories this month include:

• Employer Profile – Calabash Bistro
• Urban Farming Workshops
• Event Listings
• Job Postings

SOLEfood Open House Information Session
418 East Hastings Street
(Mah Benevolent Society of Vancouver, at Dunlevy Avenue)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
2:00pm – 4:00pm

This Saturday, August 14th, 2010, there will be a SOLEfood Open House Information Session regarding a possible second farm site at Union Street and Gore Avenue (the grass area adjacent to the via duct). The good folks at SOLEfood have requested feedback and input from neighbours on the project before they submit an application for the development permit

See the SOLEfood open house invitation for more details.

About SOLEfood: The SOLEfood Urban Farm Project is a non-profit social enterprise that trains and employs DTES residents in urban agriculture. The food grown is sold to restaurants and at Farmers Markets in order to achieve economic self sufficiency.

If you’re unable to attend but would still like to submit comments, questions or suggestions you can do so via email, phone or mail. Please send it to:

E-mail:   SOLEfood@unitedwecan.ca

Or via regular mail to:

Seann Dory & Doris Chow
39 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1M9
Phone: 604-837-1601

Hendrik Hoekema, Executive Director of VEEES and the Emporium

Hendrik Hoekema, BOB Board Member and founder of Vancouver Eastside Educational Enrichment Society (VEEES), has started a new social enterprise on Hastings Street. Everything but the Kitchen Sink Emporium is selling some of the physical components that contributed to the intangible legacy left by the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Located a block away from SOLEfood urban farm, the Emporium does, in fact, sell almost everything one could ever want. The store offers gently used or excess Olympic equipment and paraphernalia, and ‘as is’ furniture donated to them by various companies in the Lower Mainland. Some stock is straight from the Olympic Village and the Lost & Found which operated during the Games. From the Emporium’s warehouse storage space, employees bring in new items daily, ranging from construction gear and office supplies, to clothing and accessories. Appropriately enough, they have umbrellas in abundance. If you are ever in need of an industrial-sized bottle of hand sanitizer, they have that too.

Many social enterprises function as the primary means of funding for a non-profit organization. The Emporium works in partnership with the Network of Inner City Community Services Society (NICCSS). NICCSS was formed in 1996 and provides many valuable programs and resources within the Grandview Woodlands, Strathcona, and the Downtown Eastside neighbourhoods. Their mandate is to build nurturing networks that optimize the development of children and youth, and strengthen families in the inner city. All of the proceeds from the Emporium’s sales go to support NICCSS.

The Emporium is at 875 East Hastings Street and is open from 11am – 6pm Monday to Saturday. Only cash is accepted so stop by an ATM in preparation for the great bargains that you will inevitably pick up.

For more information, call (604) 568-0775.

Below are a just a few of the items that were in the shop the day of our visit.  Happy deal hunting!

Article by:  Lauren McGuire-Wood

Photos by:  Lani Johnson