Embark Sustainability Society

Food Rescue
2026-02-12 13:30 - 14:45, 2026-02-26 13:30 - 14:45, 2026-03-05 13:30 - 14:45, 2026-03-12 13:30 - 14:45, 2026-03-19 13:30 - 14:45, 2026-03-26 13:30 - 14:45, 2026-04-02 13:30 - 14:45, 2026-04-09 13:30 - 14:45 (America/Vancouver)
Embark Sustainability’s
Food Rescue Program
We collect healthy yet imperfect-looking produce that does not meet the selling criteria of supermarket chains and redistribute it to Simon Fraser University (SFU) students for free or by donation. Food is collected from Nesters Market and distributed at SFU Burnaby.
Stop by and grab some brain food between classes! Distribution takes place throughout each academic term and does not occur during exam periods or breaks between terms.

Land, Labour, and Liberation
2026-03-07 13:30 - 17:30 | SUB Ballroom – SFU Burnaby, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
Land, Labour, and Liberation

Date & Time
Sat, Mar 7th, 20261:30 PM – 5:30 PM PDT

Location
SUB Ballroom (5th. floor)

Register now

Food Justice asks a simple but urgent question: who controls our food, and at whose expense? Across colonial states, food systems are shaped by land dispossession, racialized labour exploitation, and policies that produce food insecurity while concentrating power.
Join us for a critical discussion led by scholar and community organizers Evelyn Encalada Grez, Nasya, and Byron, who are each at the forefront of advancing migrant justice and Indigenous food sovereignty. Their collective wealth of knowledge and experience will guide our exploration of:

Migrant labour struggles in agriculture: exploitation, racialization, precarity, and exclusion from rights within colonial labour regimes.

The weaponization of food systems by colonial states: land dispossession, food insecurity, and agricultural control function as tools of governance and oppression
What students can do: how to build true solidarity towards more just and sovereign food systems

Together, we’ll connect these struggles to the broader fight for food justice—one rooted in sovereignty, dignity, and collective responsibility.

Land Acknowledgement
Embark Sustainability’s work takes place across the unceded homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛw̓əm (Kwikwetlem), q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), Qayqayt, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, and Tsawwassen Nations. We greatly encourage our community members to reflect on the lands they are tuning in from; learn whose lands you occupy through native-land.ca.

AGenda

1:20PM |Doors Open for Registration
1:30PM | Food Service Begins
1:45PM | Land Acknowledgement with Elder Les George
2:15PM | Introductions
2:30PM | Key Note Session Part 1
3:15PM | Break
3:30PM | Key Note Session Part 2
4:15PM | Zine-making Activity
5:15PM | Closing Remarks

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Evelyn Encalada Grez (she/her)Evelyn Encalada Grez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Labour Studies Program at SFU. She is the co-founder of Justice for Migrant Workers, a collective that has been at the forefront of the migrant farmworker movement in Canada for over 20 years. She is an award-winning scholar and organizer specializing in transnational labour-migration, migrant justice, and community-engaged research.

Nasya Moore (she/her)Nasya is a scientist from the Nisga’a Nation and Leq’a:mel First Nation. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, where she studied Indigenous Food Systems. Her work is informed by curiosity and culturally grounded learning, and an understanding of resilient foodways as healing Indigenous lands and peoples. Passionate about youth engagement and language revitalization, she supports growing food sovereignty and youth education programs in her home territory of the Nass River valley. Nasya is excited to continue contributing to the reclamation and resilience of Indigenous food systems throughout the west coast.

Byron Cruz (he/him) Byron came to Canada fleeing persecution for resisting inequity and State violence in Guatemala. He is currently a community organizer. He is also an active member of the Sanctuary Health Collective and Migrant Rights Network, a grassroots collective advocating universal access to healthcare, education, and social services for all. His passion to build a society rooted in equity, human rights, dignified working conditions, and high quality of life has led him to organize grassroots community efforts to ensure that the essential needs of the people are met and services are provided.

ABOUT EMBARK’S ANNUAL FOOD JUSTICE EVENTS
Every spring, the students of Embark’s Food Justice Collective organize one large event as part of our Food Justice programming to wrap up the school year. It aims to bridge students and the wider community in jointly discussing global issues impacting food security and food sovereignty

Event Accessibility
Embark Sustainability events are free and open to Embark members which includes Simon Fraser University undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Embark Associate Members. For this event, you will have to register with your active SFU email.
This event will be held indoors at SFU Burnaby in the SUB Ballroom (located on the 5th floor of the SUB). Accessibility details to note include:

The fifth floor of the SUB is accessible via elevator and hosts accessible washrooms, including a single-stall all gender washroom.
We aim to host a scent-free space. Please refrain from wearing scented products in attendance of this event.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide ASL interpretation at this time. However, we can provide a copy of the facilitator’s script.
Sturdy, armless chairs will be available for those looking to sit during this event.
Attendees are free to opt in and opt out of activities as suits their needs throughout the event, including exiting and re-entering the event space.

We aim to make our events accessible to as many of our community members as possible. If we can take further action to make this event accessible to you, or if you have any questions, please contact our Director of Engagement, Marie, at engagement@embarksustainability.org.

Community Agreement
By registering to attend this event, you are agreeing to be respectful when listening to and communicating with others, and be mindful of the space you are taking up amongst your peers.
Embark Sustainability does not tolerate violence or aggression against others on the basis of race, ethnicity, place of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or ability. Please also refer to people using the introductions they provide and do not assume pronouns/gender/knowledge based on someone’s name or appearance.
If these agreements are broken by someone, we will have to ensure the safety of our community members by removing them from the event.

Questions
If you have any questions about this event, please contact our Food Justice Coordinator, Phone, at food@embarksustainability.org.

Register for this event
GET YOUR TICKET NOW

[CANCELLED]: Letter-writing Workshop: Getting Around to Feed Ourselves Well
2026-04-23 14:00 - 16:00 | The Embark Studio, SUB 1310 - 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
[CANCELLED] Getting Around to Feed Ourselves Well

A LETTER-WRITING WORKSHOP BRIDGING STUDENT TRANSIT AND FOOD ACCESS

Date & Time
POSTPONED – NEW DATE TBD

Location
Embark Studio (SUB 1310)

UPDATE – April, 22, 2026: We regret to share that this event has been cancelled and postponed to a later date (to be determined). We apologize for any inconvenience.

About the event
Accessing food as a student is more than a simple affordability issue. Student food security is also shaped by transit, time, mobility, and access to culturally appropriate food.
Join Embark and the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition for an interactive workshop where we’ll:

Draw connections between transit and food access: how transportation shapes who can access affordable, healthy, and culturally relevant food
Explore advocacy in practice: key initiatives and community efforts working toward more equitable food systems
Take action through letter-writing : build skills to write effective advocacy letters to elected officials

This workshop is part of the Getting Around to Feed Ourselves Well research initiative, which began at SFU in 2020 and expanded through community workshops across the Lower Mainland in 2025, supported by the BC Office of the Human Rights Commissioner.
Come learn, reflect, and take real action towards improving food and transit access for students! Plus, enter our prize draw for a chance to win a Tim Hortons gift card!

Land ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This event takes place on the unceded homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛw̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations.

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS

Chantelle Spicer (she/they)

Meet Chantelle
Chantelle works with the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition (BC PRC). She is a former SFU student who previously served as the Director of Engagement at SFPIRG. They have been a long-time advocate at the intersections of Indigenous sovereignty, anti-violence, affordable and accessible education, and healing justice. Through the BC PRC, Chantelle works in government relations and lobbying, policy research, and bringing the voices of those with lived and living experiences of poverty to the forefront. When not engaged in social justice work, she can be found writing poetry, making bread, or with her hands in the earth.

BC Poverty Reduction Coalition
The BC Poverty Reduction Coalition is comprised of over 80 organizations and community mobilizations that come together to advocate for public policy solutions to end poverty, homelessness and inequality in B.C.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BC PRC

Event Accessibility
Embark Sustainability events are free and open to Embark members which includes Simon Fraser University undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Embark Associate Members.
This event will be held indoors at the Embark Studio, room #1310 of the SUB Student Union Building (SUB), SFU Burnaby. Please review the following accessibility details:

Attendees are free to opt in and opt out of activities as suits their needs throughout the event, including exiting and re-entering the event space.
The event space is wheelchair accessible.
All-gender and wheelchair-accessible restrooms are located on the same floor.
We welcome all gender identities and expressions.
We provide access to a quiet space for personal meditation, reflection, or prayers.
The event space is a tree nut and peanut-free zone
The event space is a scent-free zone.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide ASL interpretation at this time.

We strive to make our events accessible to as many of our community members as possible. If you have accessibility needs you’d like to share, please contact our Director of Engagement at engagement@embarksustainability.org.

Health & Safety
Participants who register are agreeing to release Embark Sustainability Society from any liability related to COVID-19. Masks are optional but encouraged.

Community Agreement
By registering to attend this event, you are agreeing to be respectful when listening to and communicating with others, and be mindful of the space you are taking up amongst your peers.
Embark Sustainability does not tolerate violence or aggression against others on the basis of race, ethnicity, place of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or ability. Please also refer to people using the introductions they provide and do not assume pronouns/gender/knowledge based on someone’s name or appearance.
If these agreements are broken by someone, we will have to ensure the safety of our community members by removing them from the event.

Questions
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Embark Sustainability’s Director of Engagement at engagement@embarksustainability.org.
