Building Connections, Growing Solutions: Reflections from the Food Justice YEG Summit

On June 10, over 80 attendees, including growers, advocates, service providers, and community leaders gathered at the ArtsHub Ortona for the Food Justice YEG Summit: From Project to Movement.

Hosted by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHC) and the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative (MCHB), with support from several project stakeholders and working group members, the summit marked the culmination of the Food Security and Food Justice Edmonton (FSFJE) project while launching a broader community movement focused on food justice, dignity, and the right to food.

The morning began by grounding participants in the vision and intentions of the FSFJE project, framing the need to move beyond emergency food responses toward long-term systems transformation. Through this lens, emphasis was put on the importance of recognizing food as a human right and the role that community-led action, policy change, and collective responsibility play in building a more just and equitable food system.

The start of the program featured a panel sharing about localized initiatives which showcased community-led action, inclusion, dignified access to growing, Indigenous sovereignty, and the importance of providing choice and familiar foods to diverse communities, including Newcomers, Refugees, Indigenous and vulnerable community members. Our many thanks to these community leaders who shared about the following initiatives:


Throughout the day, participants explored practical solutions to strengthen Edmonton's food ecosystem. Key highlights included the launch of the Edmonton Food Resource Map, a new tool designed to connect residents with food resources across the city, and discussions on the Grow Strategy, which aims to expand urban agriculture and community-led growing initiatives.

The City of Edmonton, Leftovers Foundation, and The Connected Kitchen Project also shared insights on food rescue, waste reduction, community-led innovation, infrastructure and community kitchen access, and policy advocacy. One resource in particular was the City of Edmonton’s RoadMap’30 Waste Reduction Strategy.

The event also featured the premiere of several digital storytelling videos created through workshops facilitated in April 2026 by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights in collaboration with Campfire Kinship, and filmed by local filmmaker Damian Abraham of Indigital Media. These stories amplified the voices of community members and farmers with lived experience, highlighting the importance of culturally appropriate and locally grown food. They also reinforced the need to move beyond emergency food responses toward long-term, rights-based solutions, while demonstrating how we can contribute, whether individually or as a community, to help advance food dignity and food justice for all.

Check out two of the featured videos below featuring community members Ahmed Noor and Edith E-Ukhun.



The summit demonstrated the strength of Edmonton's growing food justice movement and the power of community-led action. While the FSFJE project is coming to a close, the relationships, ideas, and commitments that emerged from the gathering will continue to shape efforts toward a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable food system. We encourage folks to engage to stay connected via the Food Justice YEG website, or sign up for an email list for bi-monthly updates on food work happening locally - sign up by emailing info@jhcentre.org. We also shared a WhatsApp community that has been built to help organizations and service providers to share, connect, and collaborate to strengthen the local food ecosystem - Click Here to View the WhatsApp Poster or email info@jhcentre.org for more information on how to join.

Together, we are moving from charity to rights, from project to movement, and building a future where everyone can access healthy, culturally appropriate food with dignity.

The Food Justice YEG Summit and the Food Security and Food Justice Ecosystem of Edmonton (FSFJE) project would not have been possible without the support of funding from the City of Edmonton’s Community Safety and Wellbeing Grant (CSWB), and the City of Edmonton’s Ant-Racism funding. We also extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who made this event possible - organizers, working group members, panelists, speakers, volunteers, and staff at JHC and MCHB for their time, efforts and contributions to making this event such a beautiful day.

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