About this Event
The Waterloo Region Community Garden Network and LWIFF are excited to invite you to a screening of the documentary, The Hands That Feed Us, a feature-length documentary that visits five different farms across Canada to ask the question, "Can our farmers afford to feed us?" A community discussion including Petersburg Farm Manager Gladys Rosana and the filmmaker will shine a light on how local community gardens are helping address immigrant food insecurity, and highlight challenges to accessing land in Waterloo Region. Generous support provided by the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (LCSFS) and Civic Hub Waterloo Region.
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AGENDA:
6:30 PM - 6:45 PM
Introductions
6:45 PM - 8:30 PM
The Hands That Feed Us (103 mins)
8:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Community discussion including director Devon Cooke
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ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION:
Parking available at 205 McIntyre Drive
The barn at Steckle Farm is wheelchair accessible. Priority parking can be arranged for those with mobility concerns.
Benches available for seating. You are welcome to bring your own chair.
The barn will be cold, so please dress warm (e.g., jackets and toque) and bring a blanket.
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ABOUT Waterloo Region Community Garden Network
Our Mission: The WRCGN is dedicated to promoting and supporting the sustainability of community gardens across Waterloo Region. Committed to the region’s climate change goals, we operate through the lenses of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Our Vision: We envision a vibrant, inclusive infrastructure that empowers residents with equal opportunities to cultivate and harvest their own produce sustainably.
What We Do: A community garden is more than just a plot—it’s a collaborative space where individuals gather to nurture, grow, and relish in their shared harvest. At WRCGN, we facilitate the creation and sustenance of these gardens by connecting passionate gardeners with available land and vital resources.
https://wrcgardennetwork.ca/
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ABOUT Gladys Rosana
Gladys Rosana is the Farm Manager at Petersburg Community Garden, where she supports sustainable and inclusive community gardening. She coordinates garden operations, assists gardeners with plot management, oversees the allocation and use of resources, and helps maintain a welcoming and well-organized growing environment. Passionate about food security, cultural diversity, and community empowerment, Gladys is committed to helping individuals and families, particularly newcomers and immigrants, grow culturally meaningful crops, access fresh produce, and build stronger community connections through gardening.
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ABOUT Filmmaker Devon Cooke
Devon has made nine short films about farm economics, dance, and media culture. His most recent, a short film version of this project called The Hands that Feed Us: Amara Farm played at a half dozen film festivals, including Planet in Focus, and was acquired for streaming on The Green Channel
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ABOUT LCSFS:
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (LCSFS) connects researchers and community partners engaged in sustainable food systems change. We create opportunities for citizens, practitioners, policy-makers, private enterprise, and academics to work together to imagine and foster food systems that are fair, healthy, ecologically regenerative, culturally appropriate, prosperous, and inclusive. Our interdisciplinary work cuts across multiple projects to create local and global networks that help develop resilient food systems.
https://lcsfs.wlu.ca/
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ABOUT LWIFF:
LWIFF is a FREE community film series aiming to grow awareness in the general public about the fundamental drivers of injustice and inequity. We believe watching and discussing films together can be an engaging and informative way to learn about the structural nature of these problems and foster advocacy for solutions.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/lwiff_longview/
Event venue & nearby stays
Steckle Heritage Farm, 811 Bleams Road, Kitchener, Canada
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