Food Rescue
2026-04-02 13:30 - 14:45, 2026-04-09 13:30 - 14:45 (America/Vancouver) | British Columbia
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.

[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.

[CANCELLED] Climate Policy Workshop: Adaptation and Frameworks
2026-05-11 17:00 - 18:30 | The Embark Studio, SUB 1310 - 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
[CANCELLED]: Climate Policy Workshop

LEARN ABOUT LOCAL CLIMATE POLICY ADAPTATION AND FRAMEWORKS

Date & Time
Mon, May 11, 20265:00PM – 6:30PM

Location
Embark Studio (SUB 1310)

UPDATE – May 11, 2026: We regret to share that this event has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience.

About the event
Join Embark Sustainability and facilitator Aryan Sharifi for an engaging climate policy workshop! Featuring interactive activities and snacks, this event will explore the adaptation measures and frameworks utilized in the Greater Vancouver Area, British Columbia, and Canada.

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

Aryan Sharifi (he/they)

Meet Aryan
Aryan Sharifi is a third-year Bachelor of Arts student, majoring in Political Science. He is interested in climate change politics, both nationally and internationally, and is passionate about advancing climate justice through community involvement and engagement.

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.

Community Kitchen: Wild Gastronomy: 'Foraging' the Path to Plant-forward Eating
2026-06-17 17:30 - 21:00 | SUB Community Kitchen – SFU Burnaby, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
Community Kitchen: Wild Gastronomy: ‘Foraging’ the Path to Plant-forward Eating

EXPLORING CLASSIC AND MODERN CULINARY TECHNIQUES WITH WILD, PLANT-BASED FOODS

Date & Time
Wed, Jun 175:30 PM – 9:00 PM PDT

Location
SUB Community Kitchen, room #2125 (SFU Burnaby)

Register now

ABOUT THE EVENT
We are excited to be joined by Chef Oliver as he takes us on a culinary journey to wild gastronomy! He’ll be walking us through classic and modern techniques and philosophies of a plant-based kitchen, which involve zero waste, wild food foraging and locavorism. You can look forward to:

Getting to know how a top-tier culinary team operates in plant-forward, sustainable eating
A surprise three-course, Michelin-worthy dinner prepared by Chef Oliver
An opportunity to improve your knife skills

About Wild Gastronomy
Wild gastronomy is a seasonal foraging practice that elevates hyper-local plants, fungi, and game into fine culinary experiences. Relative to this practice is locavorism, a diet that prioritizes food that is grown, harvested, and produced within a specific local geographic area. Together, wild gastronomy and locavorism celebrate regional food traditions while encouraging greater awareness of seasonal cycles, biodiversity, and the ecological relationships that shape local food systems.

AGENDA

Introductions and Housekeeping
Activities
Eating and Discussion
Wrap-up and Clean-up

Whether you’re a seasoned chef or new to the kitchen, all are welcome! Please let us know of any dietary restrictions and/or food allergies in the registration form ahead of the event. We strongly recommend registering as soon as possible, as we have a limited capacity of 20 spots available for this community kitchen.

Thanks and see you there!✨

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

Oliver Vimos (he/him)

Meet Oliver
Over the last four years, Oliver has honed his craft in a variety of kitchens, but for the past two, he’s been at Hummus X Hortense—a 1-Michelin-star vegan restaurant that recently ranked #10 in the world for vegetable-focused dining! True to his plant-forward philosophy, everything he teaches celebrates the whole ingredient: from root to flower, seed to stem, nothing gets left behind. Get ready to see food in a whole new way!

Event Accessibility

Embark Sustainability events are free and open to Embark Sustainability members which includes Simon Fraser University undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Embark Sustainability Associate Members.
This event will be held indoors at the SUB Community Kitchen, room #2125 of the Student Union Building (SUB), SFU Burnaby. Accessibility details include:

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.
Some appliances and counter areas of this room are not accessible when using a wheelchair or other mobility aids. The dining/lounge area is accessible when using a wheelchair or other mobility aids.
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. We will be providing written recipe instructions.

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, please contact Embark Sustainability’s 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 Food justice Programs Coordinator at food@embarksustainability.org.

Register for this Event
get reminders & event details now

Liberation Summer: Organizers' Bootcamp 2026
2026-07-27 11:00 - 2026-07-29 17:00 | The Embark Studio, SUB 1310 - 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
Liberation Summer: Organizers’ Bootcamp

Date & Time
Mon July 27 – Wed, July 2911:00 AM – 5:00 PM PDT (each day)

Location
Embark Studio (SUB 1310) – SFU Burnaby

Click to Register

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Interested in organizing around an issue you care deeply about, but unsure where to start? Constantly posting about injustices and wishing you could do more? Wanting to get involved in community or movement spaces, but feeling held back by impostor syndrome or uncertainty about where you fit in?
Join Embark Sustainability for our third annual Organizers’ Bootcamp, a three-day program featuring six hands-on workshops led by experienced local organizers! This bootcamp is especially intended to support students and community members, particularly marginalized and racialized folks, who want to build the knowledge, skills, and relationships needed to create lasting change.
Organizing is how we build collective power, challenge systems of oppression, and create meaningful change in our communities. Grounded in political education, practical skill-building, and movement sustainability, this bootcamp explores what organizing actually is, how power operates within institutions, and how successful campaigns and lasting movements are built. Get ready to learn:

Political grounding
Movement memory
Campaign strategy
Sustainable organizing practices
Coalition building
Collective care
Accountability systems

Our organizing principles is informed by lessons from marginalized communities and successful student-led campaigns at SFU, including the movements to retire SFU’s racially harmful team name, the multi-million-dollar fossil fuel divestment campaign, Black student organizing that secured 15 Black faculty hires, expanded Black mental health supports, and the creation of the Black Student Centre, Palestinian solidarity organizing that established the first B.C. student union BDS policy, and community campaigns such as Save Our Spaces.
Across three days, participants will move from understanding organizing and power, to developing campaign strategy, to learning how to build resilient movements that can sustain themselves over time. You’ll leave with practical organizing tools, a stronger understanding of how change happens, and a community of fellow organizers committed to justice and liberation.
Whether you’re just getting started or already active in movement spaces, this bootcamp is a place to learn, connect, and strengthen our collective capacity to organize for a more just future.

Themes

Monday, July 27 → Understanding Organizing & Power: Political Grounding, Confidence & Movement Memory
Tuesday, July 28 → Turning Ideas into Change: Strategy, Power Mapping & Action
Wednesday, July 29→ Building Movements That Last: Solidarity, Collective Care & Movement Sustainability

*Light breakfast, snacks, tea/coffee will be provided daily.

Schedule

🌱 Arrival & Grounding | 11:00–11:30 AM

Check in, settle, grab a provided light breakfast, and ease into the day

🗣️ Reflection & Community Input | 11:30 AM–12:00 PM

Anonymous question and input box, and collective reflections

📖 Session I | 12:00–2:00 PM ☕

Rest & Recharge | 2:00–3:00 PM Lunch, break, and community connection

🤝 Session II | 3:00–5:00 PM

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

REGISTRATION
Please note that this program has a limited capacity of 40 participants. The deadline to register has been extended to 11:59PM on Friday, July 24, but completing registration as soon as possible is strongly encouraged to reserve a spot.
Registrants will receive a confirmation email starting Thursday, July 23 with a full schedule, details on preparation, and all relevant materials.
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Facilitators and workshops

Harjap Grewal (he/him)

Meet Harjap
Harjap has participated in a spectrum of movements, organizations and projects. He prioritizes building solidarities across organizing spaces and issues while also deepening our collective understanding of structural power.

Day 1 Workshop: Our Collective Responsibility to Organize
This workshop intends to build confidence among grassroots organizers in initiating and engaging in collective action. Organizing communities continue to work to improve their organizing practices, deal with tensions in political organizing and facilitate collective education to understand systemic power. However, these efforts are not checklists or requirements to engage in collective action. Instead, this workshop creates space for dialogue between new and more experienced organizers, strengthening the collective capacity of movements working toward collective liberation.

Serena Bains (they/them) & Marie Haddad (she/her)

Meet Serena
Serena is a Punjabi, disabled, queer settler and Director of Development at Embark Sustainability. As a co-founder of the SFU Disability and Neurodiversity Alliance (DNA), their organizing is rooted in disability justice and cross-movement solidarity. Most recently, they co-led the successful student fee levy renewal campaign, securing continued funding for student-led services and organizing at SFU.

Meet Marie
Marie is a Coptic Egyptian graduate student in Communication Research for Social Change and currently serves as the Director of Engagement at Embark Sustainability Society where she leads community-focused initiatives. Before joining Embark, Marie spent five years as a student organizer advancing equitable and sustainable education through intersectional and anti-oppressive organizing. She helped lead campaigns that established the Black Student Center, secured the 15 Black Faculty Cluster Hiring Initiative, advanced SFU’s fossil fuel divestment campaign, and led the Simon Fraser Student Society’s first Palestinian Liberation and BDS policy, later adopted as a bylaw. Through her master’s research, Marie documents and preserves the organizing histories and legacies of marginalized communities, strengthening movement memory and ensuring future generations can learn from those who came before them.
Day 2 Workshop: Power is in Remembering –Movement Memory, Archives & Organizing for the Future
This session explores how we can build upon the struggles, victories, and lessons of the movements that came before us. Preserving movement memory, learning from past organizing, and carrying those lessons into present-day work are essential to building stronger coalitions and sustaining intergenerational movements.
Together, we’ll explore the importance of archiving, documentation, and institutional memory; examine case studies from past campaigns; learn how to conduct movement retrospectives; and discuss strategies for preserving and sharing movement narratives.
By documenting our histories, we can help prevent movements from being co-opted, ensure future organizers understand the context and strategies that shaped past victories, and strengthen our collective capacity to imagine and build more just futures.

Balqees Jama (she/her) & Giovanni HoSang (he/him)

Meet Balqees
Balqees is a communications and engagement strategist whose organizing journey began at SFU, where she learned firsthand how collective action can create institutional change. During her undergraduate years, Balqees served as president of SOCA and on the boards of SFPIRG and the SFSS. She co-organized campaigns, including the fight against the eviction of Student Union Building (formerly Rotunda) groups, the campaign to establish SFU’s Black Student Centre, and the collective effort to restructure the 26,000-member Student Society’s governance model to make it more democratic and accessible. She also supported campaigns led by fellow organizers on affordability, divestment, Indigenous inclusion, climate justice, and other anti-oppression issues. Balqees sees organizing as an ongoing practice of learning, relationship-building, and building on the work of those who came before us while making space for those who come next.

Meet Giovanni
Giovanni is a software engineer and former student organizer whose activism took root at Simon Fraser University, where he served as President of the Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCA) for three years before serving as President of the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS), representing over 26,000 students. Rooted in SFU’s Black community spaces and the broader Vancouver Black community, Giovanni co-organized the Black Space Matters campaign resisting the eviction of SOCA and other equity-deserving groups from the Rotunda, helping spearhead that resistance alongside many Black student organizers. He also led the Tuition Freeze Now campaign, pushing back against unjust tuition increases for international students through cross-campus solidarity, contributing to student affordability victories including a $400,000 emergency bursary during the COVID-19 pandemic. He later co-organized efforts to advance SFU’s Black faculty hiring initiative, helped build the organizing and policy infrastructure that supported the SFSS’s Palestine Liberation Issues Policy, and has continued organizing through Black Boys Code and employee-led campaigns and affinity groups at Microsoft, where he works to bridge technology, community, and collective action.
Day 2 Workshop (Coming Soon)
This session explores how we can build upon the struggles, victories, and lessons of the movements that came before us. Preserving movement memory, learning from past organizing, and carrying those lessons into present-day work are essential to building stronger coalitions and sustaining intergenerational movements.
Together, we’ll explore the importance of archiving, documentation, and institutional memory; examine case studies from past campaigns; learn how to conduct movement retrospectives; and discuss strategies for preserving and sharing movement narratives.
By documenting our histories, we can help prevent movements from being co-opted, ensure future organizers understand the context and strategies that shaped past victories, and strengthen our collective capacity to imagine and build more just futures.

Yi Chien Jade Ho 何宜謙 (she/they) & Kabir (he/him)

Meet Yi Chien Jade Ho 何宜謙
Yi Chien Jade Ho 何宜謙 iis a migrant settler on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. They have been a labour and housing justice organizer for the past 10+ years, working primarily in Vancouver’s Chinatown and Downtown Eastside.

Meet Kabir
Kabir is a migrant settler on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. Trained as a social anthropologist, Kabir is a researcher and organizer at the Carnegie Housing Project in the Downtown Eastside of so-called Vancouver, as well as a volunteer organizer at the Vancouver Tenants Union.

Day 2 Workshop: Building Communities of Organizers – Where Can Organizing Begin and How Does it Grow into a Movement?
In this workshop, we will share the process of organizing from the ground up. We will speak from our experience of neighbourhood-based organizing in Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside as tenant organizers, drawing from campaigns around anti-displacement, anti-gentrification, and language justice.

Chantelle Spicer (she/they)

Meet Chantelle
Chantelle Spicer is dedicated to Indigenous sovereignty and futures, consent in all forms of solidarity, accountability, and care in and between our social movements. She has been involved with West Coast LEAF, the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, the Nanaimo Women’s Centre, and the Teaching Support Staff Union. She currently serves as the Co-Director for the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, where they work to advocate for poverty responses to working and deep poverty across the province. Chantelle is also a poet, an artist, a gardener, a weaver, a dreamer and those things have to be mentioned because they are important to change-making.

Day 2 Workshop: Understanding our Place Within and Across Social Justice Movements
Drawing on the work of Deepa Iyer and generations of internationalist organisers, we will build an understanding of roles within social justice movements, define what solidarity means between movements, and reflect on how we can contribute to change-making through consideration of positionality, power, and access. This workshop will include some presentation slides, but will mostly rely on discussion and reflective writing.

Tiara Cash (she/they)

Meet Tiara
Dr. Tiara A. Cash (she/they) is a community organizer, wellness researcher, and leadership strategist whose work sits at the intersection of collective care, movement building, and organizational transformation. Grounded in anti-colonial, anti-racist, and equity-centered approaches, she has led and co-led organizing initiatives that strengthen community capacity through political education, strategic planning,relationship-building, and systems change.
Across grassroots movements, higher education, healthcare, and nonprofitorganizations, Tiara has coordinated community gatherings, facilitated politicaleducation, supported advocacy campaigns, and partnered with organizers to build sustainable structures for collective action. Her work emphasizes that lastingmovements are built not only through strategy and action, but through relationships rooted in reciprocity, accountability, and shared well-being.
Tiara is the creator of the Equitable Mindfulness Framework and co-developer of the Expansive Model of Mindfulness, frameworks that bridge research, organizing, and contemplative practice to help individuals, organizations, and communities cultivate the conditions for collective flourishing. She currently serves as a board-certified Health & Wellness Coach, organizational consultant, and Executive Director of Crowned Vitta LLC, where she partners with organizations to design equitable systems that support both people and purpose.

Day 2 Workshop: Beyond Burnout- Equitable Mindfulness for Building Movements that Last
Social movements are often built on urgency and deepcommitment to justice. Yet movements cannot be sustained if the people within them are disconnected from themselves, one another, and the communities they seek to serve. Grounded in the Equitable Mindfulness Framework, this interactive workshop invites organizers, activists, and community leaders to reimagine movementsustainability through the practice of equitable relationships with self and others.Participants will explore how mindfulness extends beyond individual self-care tobecome a relational and collective practice that strengthens solidarity, nurturesreciprocal leadership, and supports communities in building movements that can endure. Together, we will examine practical strategies for cultivating collective care that is rooted in justice, accountability, reciprocity, and human flourishing.

Event Accessibility

This event will be held indoors at room #1310 of the Student Union Building (SUB), SFU Burnaby. Accessibility details include:

The venue is wheelchair accessible, with gender-inclusive and accessible washrooms on-site.
Light breakfast, snacks, tea/coffee will be provided daily.
We aim to create a scent-reduced, peanut- and tree nut-free environment. Please avoid wearing strong fragrances and foods that may cause allergic reactions.
If you have specific access needs, please contact engagement@embarksustainability.org or development@embarksustainability.org by July 24th.

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. There is no tolerance for 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.

Health & Safety
We acknowledge that COVID is not over and that the pandemic disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable among us including BIPOC, poor people, and folks living with illness and/or disability. In light of these realities, and in the spirit of nurturing communities of care, we will be practicing the highest level of precaution possible including masking during all indoor programming. We ask that all participants similarly act with the utmost precaution to limit transmission of the virus. Masks will be provided for attendees.

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

Register for this Event
get reminders & event details now

Community Kitchen: Let's Talk Black Food Sovereignty
2026-07-30 17:30 - 21:30 | SUB Community Kitchen – SFU Burnaby, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
Community Kitchen: Let’s Talk Black Food Sovereignty

THE RIGHT TO FOOD, CULTURE, AND LIBERATION

Date & Time
Thursday, July 305:30 PM – 9:30 PM PDT

Location
SUB Community Kitchen, room #2125 (SFU Burnaby)

Register now

Featured Image: “Impromptu barbecue on Lock St. in Port Dalhousie c. 1940. Photographer: Harry Harper” | Source: St. Catherine’s Museum Blog

ABOUT THE EVENT
How is food connected to freedom, resilience, and collective care? Join us for a community kitchen honouring American Juneteenth and Canadian Emancipation Day, where we will explore Black food sovereignty through the interconnected histories of land, labour, and liberation across Black communities in the United States and Canada.
Let’s celebrate the richness, creativity, and care embedded in Black food traditions across borders, including:

Soul food traditions shaped by the ingenuity and care of enslaved Black communities who transformed scraps and limited resources into nourishment, culture, and tradition
African Nova Scotian communities that relied on deep knowledge of farming, fishing, foraging, and food preservation to sustain generations on minimally fertile land.

Food has long been tied to Black memory, community, cultural preservation, and collective life. Together, we will explore what Black food sovereignty means today, and how food continues to serve as a powerful site of history, community, and collective care.
About Juneteenth & Emancipation DayCelebrated annually on August 1, Emancipation Day marks the abolition of slavery in Canada and across much of the “British Empire.” June 19 or “Juneteenth” marks the delayed enforcement of emancipation in Texas more than two years after the U.S. Emancipation Proclamation. Together, these histories remind us that the abolition of slavery did not guarantee true liberation, dignity, safety, land, or justice. Through the lens of Black food sovereignty, this community kitchen creates space to hold these histories while engaging with the ways food continues to nourish resistance, memory, and collective care in the present.

We’ll be making:*

Mac and Cheese
Fried Chicken & Fried Cauliflower
Honey Butter Cornbread
Seasoned Greens (cabbage from our Learning Gardens)
Sweet Potato Pie

*Please let us know of any dietary restrictions and/or food allergies in the registration form ahead of the event. We strive to accommodate participants’ dietary needs to the best of our ability, but please note that no recipe adjustments will be made to any of the menu items. Thank you for your understanding.

AGENDA

Introductions and Housekeeping
Activities
Eating and Discussion
Wrap-up and Clean-up

Whether you’re a seasoned chef or new to the kitchen, all are welcome!

Thanks and see you there!✨

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

Purity Onoyemeakpo (any/all pronouns)

Meet Purity
Purity is a Mechatronic Systems Engineering student at Simon Fraser University with a strong interest in how technologies of all kinds shape communities, ways of life, and the environment. They are deeply engaged in issues related to climate equity, land and food sovereignty, mining, militarization, and anti-imperialist movements. Purity has been a community organizer for several years, contributing to organizing efforts with Canada Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights, Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group, Embark Sustainability Society, and Access to Media Education Society. They currently serve as the Relations Officer on Embark Sustainability’s Board of Directors.

Marie Haddad (she/her)

Meet Marie
Marie is an SFU graduate student and Coptic Egyptian who serves as the Director of Engagement at Embark Sustainability Society, where she develops and leads inclusive, community-focused initiatives. Before taking on this role, she spent five years as a student organizer dedicated to advancing equitable and sustainable education, uplifting marginalized communities, and championing intersectionality, anti-oppression, and anti-racism. As the inaugural VP of Equity and Sustainability at the SFSS and a former SOCA Executive, Marie helped drive landmark joint campaigns such as the creation of the Black Student Center, 15 Black Faculty Cluster Hiring initiative and SFU’s multi-million-dollar fossil fuel divestment campaign. She also led B.C.’s first unanimously passed policy on Palestinian Liberation and BDS at the SFSS, which was later adopted as a bylaw.
In her Master’s research in Communication Research for Social Change, Marie is committed to documenting and preserving the histories, stories, and organizing legacies of marginalized communities at SFU, ensuring their contributions are remembered and accessible to future generations. She remains deeply committed to building strong communities and fostering transformative change.

Event Accessibility

Embark Sustainability events are free and open to Embark Sustainability members which includes Simon Fraser University undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Embark Sustainability Associate Members.
This event will be held indoors at the SUB Community Kitchen, room #2125 of the Student Union Building (SUB), SFU Burnaby. Accessibility details include:

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.
Some appliances and counter areas of this room are not accessible when using a wheelchair or other mobility aids. The dining/lounge area is accessible when using a wheelchair or other mobility aids.
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. We will be providing written recipe instructions.

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, please contact Embark Sustainability’s 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.

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