Why Learn Jewishly About Food Security?

This guest blog post was written by Camille Lisser, a Jewish educator who recently completed her internship as Mazon Canada's Community Education Developer.

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Recently, I interned at Mazon Canada to collaborate on a food security curriculum, teaching about food justice through a Jewish lens.

Why?

Because we’ve heard from synagogues, summer camps, and Jewish schools across Canada that their Jewish community is ready to take the next step in educating, learning, and acting on food security.

Why?

Because so many Jewish community members know that food security is an alarming problem in Canada, worsening each year – and that it doesn’t have to be this way. Alongside our enduring work of providing food-aid, we can create education that provides a uniquely Jewish approach to countering the upstream causes of food insecurity.

Why?

Because when the Jewish community educates on food security, we are connecting to our values through our synagogues, families, communities, and youth – and creating the world we want to live in. Because through Jewish values and learning, students and teachers alike are inspired to take an interest in the cause of food security, building connections both within and beyond our community.

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This past summer, I worked with Robbie Solway and the Mazon Canada team on to educate our community about Canadian food insecurity, through a uniquely Jewish approach. Together, we developed lesson plans that will be used for children and youth in Jewish summer camps, after-school programs, and schools across Canada.

While designing these food security lessons, Robbie and I played ‘Nine Whys’: an activity (from Liberating Structures) that helped to clarify the purpose of our work. To put it simply: we asked each other “Why?” nine times, or until we had reached the foundational reason for our work to exist – as I’ve demonstrated above.

Does our “Why?” game sound frustrating? At first, it felt unnatural, but quickly it became clear that this one question was a great strength in getting to the root of an issue. What if one seemingly simple question could be a powerful tool in understanding why food insecurity persists, why we care, and what we can do about it?

As a Community Education Developer, I incorporated “Nine Whys” and similar activities into Mazon Canada’s lesson plans and educator trainings to engage students and facilitators in the issue of food insecurity, allowing them to come to their own conclusions while hopefully inspiring them to take meaningful, sustainable action.

Before diving into lesson planning, I knew I needed to get more familiar with the state of food security in Canada. While I knew it was a major problem, the magnitude was shocking. In 2023, approximately 2.53 million food bank visits were recorded in my home city of Toronto, up 51% from the previous year (Who’s Hungry Report, 2023).

Learning from first-hand testimonies, subject-matter experts and frontline employees in food organizations, a key finding was that food insecurity is a systemic problem – one tied to poverty, cost of housing, inadequate disability benefits and many more social issues. Throughout each of the lessons, I allowed the interconnectedness of these social issues to feature prominently.

Reflecting on my time with Mazon, I find myself particularly proud of two specific qualities of these lesson plans.

First: they are made by Jewish people, for Jewish people. The lesson plans intentionally highlight important Jewish traditions, teachings, values, communities, and Torah stories. Our food security lessons are wholeheartedly rooted in Judaism.

Second: I am proud of how our lesson plans empower participants to take the lead in their learning. In each lesson, they learn through participative activities such as artistic projects, imaginative play, mind-maps, and roundtable discussions. Engaging peer exploration allows participants to connect their Jewish identity to current day food security issues. Brainstorms, experiential activities, and role-playing help break down complex concepts and systems in tangible ways.

While I’m now back in school to finish my undergraduate degree, I am in touch with the Mazon team as they prepare to launch our curriculum in 2025 in several Canadian Jewish communities. I’m so excited for what’s in store with this education work, and I’m sure you’ll hear more about it soon from Robbie.

Please get in touch with Robbie if you are interested in donating to support Mazon’s Jewish education, to learn more about the curriculum, or if you’d like Mazon to bring food security education to your Jewish community.

My hope is that these programs leave young Jews across Canada passionate about addressing food justice issues, equipped for lifelong engagement with food security, and confident to take social action – all with a strengthened sense of Jewish identity.

All the best,

Camille Lisser