The Kitchen Stories

In this episode, the last one in Season 2 (the dessert episode, you might say), join me (Liana) as I try to get to the bottom of the mysteries behind my family's secret chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

Many Jewish institutions are facing a decline in young adult engagement compared to that of older generations. Could food and land-based programming be the solution? Hear from returning and new guests about how they get young people through the door (virtually and irl), and how previously disengaged Jews are finding community and connection through Jewish outdoor, food, farming, and environmental education (JOFEE) programs.  Want to learn more about something you heard on the show? Here's the Seeds of Opportunity report mentioned in the episode.  Click here for Hazon's list of JOFEE partner organizations. They also have a podcast series about some of the programs.  One of the guests in this episode, Ilana Zackon, who lives in Moishe House Vancouver, hosts another Jewish podcast: The CJN's Bonjour Chai. Check it out!

Jewish food historian Kat Romanow talks about the Wandering Chew, converting to Judaism, which Montreal bagel is best, and much more! 

What's the recipe for accessible, LGBTQ+, Jewish spaces? Carmel Tanaka from JQT Vancouver and Joe Isaac and L.M Jones from the Pink Peacock fill us in on the key ingredients, from community bridges made of rainbow challah to Yiddish Anarchist knishes. 

The third and final part in this season's series on food security is all about Jewish Family Services of Vancouver's new food hub! What's a food hub? How's it different from a food bank? Where did JFS get the idea? All these questions and more are answered in today's episode as we learn about this big transformation in JFS's approach to food security.   Be sure to check out the hub's Grand Opening event on April 18th.

In this episode, Part 2/3 on food security, hear from two clients of Jewish Family Services about their lived experiences of food insecurity, from the circumstances that brought them to rely on the food bank to how we can provide support as a community.  Please note that this episode includes discussions of chronic illness and gender-based violence.

Food security is so much more than just receiving a bag of food. Part 1 of this season's series on food security is made up of highlights from a panel discussion hosted by Congregation Beth Israel and Jewish Family Services of Vancouver back in January. The panelists provide a big picture introduction to food security in all its complexity; from the lived experience, to global systems, to the spiritual impact of food (in)justice. Panelists: Mara Shnay - Chair of the Jewish Family Services Client Advisory Committee Cindy McMillan - Director of Programs and Partnerships at JFS Krystine McInnes - CEO at Grown Here Farms Dr. Eleanor Boyle - Writer and educator on sustainable food systems Dr. Tammara Soma - Assistant Professor and Food Systems Lab Research Director at Simon Fraser University Stay tuned for Parts 2 & 3 as we dig deeper into local food insecurity and learn about an exciting development in how it's being addressed. 

Today's menu-- I mean episode-- is entirely plant-based! Listen to our guests reflect on their vegan journeys, adapting traditional Jewish foods to a plant-based diet, and the relationship between veganism and Judaism. 

Travel through time and across British Columbia in this episode, as we delve into the history of keeping kosher in BC, learn about the first kosher food importing business in Vancouver, and hear from some of the people working hard to supply Jews in smaller communities with kosher products today.  Head over to the Jewish Museum and Archives of BC Blog for more about Koffman Food Importers, including the drawing and 1975 Western Grocer article mentioned in the episode. 

How can we draw inspiration from Jewish traditions to show up for others? In this episode, Madison Slobin and Becca Schwenk tell us about Shiva Delivers, an initiative they organized in the Spring of 2020 where Jewish community members prepared meals in an effort to stand in solidarity  with the Black community following the murder of George Floyd.  The resource Becca mentions, "The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture," from Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups, by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, can be found here: https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture-characteristics.html And you can check out Strategem: The Podcast here: https://www.welcometostratagem.com/podcast