Due to COVID-19, we decided to realign our priorities to develop proactive solutions to support our communities and those who are disproportionally affected by the pandemic such as low-income seniors and persons with disabilities. Although we are continuing to grow food following social-distancing guidelines, we recognize that we are not able to grow enough food and it may not be accessible to those impacted the most by this pandemic.

With the support from the Social Innovation Seed Fund, we started the PLOT Care Baskets, an initiative aiming to provide weekly boxes filled with delicious, fresh produce (hearty veggies and fruits) for our neighbours who are in need.

Here are some insights on the project:

– There is a gap or lack of communication between the City of Surrey and grassroots organizations, in regards to understanding community needs and fostering citizen’s capacity to develop their own place-based solutions.

– You have to move fast! We launched this project in a day and started delivering boxes in the same week. You can’t wait around to make the idea perfect if there is a need you have to address it right away and there is always the opportunity to adapt during the process.

 – A lot of community organizations care and are working to address food security but they are not aware of each other. We want to create a network of these organizations to build capacity so that we can support each other. I am currently in the process of reaching out to different grassroots groups, community gardens and organizations in an effort to align our resources to provide proactive solutions for our communities in need.

– There are several barriers to accessing food from the Surrey Food Bank, an individual has to sign up in person and must also pick up the food on site.

– Identifying individuals who are in need can also be challenging because you don’t want to assume one’s vulnerability. Word of mouth has been working for us so far!

Learn more about The PLOT Care Basket Initiative here.