Simi
August 2020, By Sonya cestra
Photo by: Nick Zator
Meet Simi, one of the drivers who helps deliver Food Stash’s Rescued Food Boxes to households seeking accessible and affordable food, and looking to reduce food waste. Simi was born in Nigeria but moved to Canada with her family when she was 12 years old and it has been her home ever since. She enjoys being active, spending time with friends, and volunteering to give back to her community. Although she has lived in Vancouver for most her life, Simi also spent time living in the beautiful city of Victoria while going to UVic. It was here she got more involved with different community organizations focusing on homelessness and raising money for Alzheimer's awareness.
By following the news and listening to a variety of podcasts, Simi expanded her understanding of other issues, specifically the various consequences of high-energy consumption and lifestyles that produce a lot of waste. During this time she began to experience, as she aptly describes, “climate depression” where she was interested in environmental issues but slightly frightened as well. While it is amazing that we have access to so much more information on climate change, constant media reports on our greenhouse emissions and “the point of no return” can be quite overwhelming (and at times discouraging).
“I was at a point in my life when I was experiencing a lot of anxiety around climate change. For years I’d been consuming news about the state of the planet -- about how the US government was pulling out of decarbonization efforts, about how Canada is one of the worst food waste offenders, about how places like Lagos, Nigeria, where I was born, would be more disproportionately affected by climate change, and about how Indigenous communities are most affected by the effects of climate change despite contributing the least to it. At that point I decided that instead of sitting around feeling doomed and helpless, I would be constructive and do something.”
how simi took Action
One way she tries to channel this anxiety into something positive is through her individual lifestyle and footprint, by making more of an effort to live a Zero Waste lifestyle. She says that a bit of planning goes a long way to prevent the process from feeling like a big sacrifice.
“The most basic example is always remembering to bring reusable items like bags, bottles and mugs wherever I may need them (sometimes when I forget to bring a bag, I only buy things I can carry to my car with my hands and pockets!). What has been the most challenging for me has been catching subconscious bad habits and replacing them with good ones. Now, instead of automatically going to Amazon or buying new, I do most of my shopping on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist and thrift shops. Also I try to buy groceries only after I’ve made up a meal plan and taken into consideration what I already have, so that I can eliminate food waste at home. I’ve been pleasantly surprised how many different resources are available on living sustainably in every area of your life -- food, travel, beauty, and even periods!”
Simi finds that living Zero Waste has been a gradual process, where she tackles different parts of her lifestyle by eating less meat, buying package-free groceries, and taking steps to be a more ethical consumer when it is possible (and affordable!). For anyone looking to take on a Zero Waste lifestyle themselves, she recommends taking full advantage of the many online resources available. Through her own research she has been able to engage with a larger online community of people trying to modify their lifestyles, while also connecting with people locally.
“Although I’d already started trying to be sustainable at that point, seeing Lauren Singer’s video on Youtube about how she could fit 5 years worth of her trash into a single mason jar was a visual representation that it was actually possible. I’m not nearly close to being Zero Waste, but I actively try to make better choices every day. Since I’m a very visual learner, Youtube has been an incredible resource; it recommends videos to watch based on my interests and has been instrumental in showing just how achievable a Zero Waste lifestyle can be. The facebook group Zero Waste Vancouver has also been great with connecting with the community and getting ideas from locals.”
Where Food Stash Comes In
Photo by Nick Zator
In addition to making changes in her own life, Simi wanted to branch out and use her free time to support community organizations to make an even larger impact. While doing some research on organizations targeting waste reduction in Vancouver, she was quite excited to learn about Food Stash, which aligned with her values and interest in minimizing food waste while also managing food insecurity in the community. Acting as a driver for Food Stash has given Simi the opportunity to truly visualize the difference she’s making by seeing the food she is helping to divert from landfills.
She also explains that her favourite thing about her role at Food Stash has been in the small interactions with families receiving the RFBs. Many families have been so friendly and welcoming to her, which really speaks to the sense of community that can be fostered by food. This community-oriented nature is also what motivates Simi to volunteer. Simi is passionate about bringing people together and doing her best to empower those around her whether that means encouraging her friends to get involved with other community organizations or engaging with Food Stash. From a young age Simi was taught to “love your neighbours as your own” and to give back to your community. Her values and drive to volunteer are exemplified by the quote:
“We owe it to our neighbours and partners to elevate each other. If we’re not all food secure then we can’t say the community is thriving.”
Although becoming a part of the Food Stash community has given her the chance to give back, Simi also recognizes how much she has gained through this role. Working with Food Stash has given her the chance to push past the “climate depression” and take action to provide solutions to issues that are important to her. She conveys her experience with Food Stash as simply “doing good and feeling good.”
Simi is already such a valued part of Food Stash and makes efforts wherever she can to minimize her individual impact on the environment. However, she still dreams of doing so much more in her own life as well as inspiring and supporting those around her.
Photo by: Nick Zator
“I want to be in a role where I can make real change towards empowering people or doing more for the environment. I don’t know what form that will take but I want to be somewhere I can make real change and make a difference and take care of the people I love and that have helped me to get to where I am and to be who I am. I also want to be able to travel and experience lots of other cultures and places in the world because the world is so big and so beautiful. I want to see as much of it as I can, in a sustainable way hopefully. Maybe I should get one of those solar powered boats that Greta travelled on, we’ll have to see!”