Food Solidarity in East Kent
“It is not saviourism, but collectivity and solidarity, that will fuel our best efforts.”
Kelly Hayes, Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care
We are currently on a journey of curiosity through the social kitchens in our local community. While food banks are typically managed by non-profits to provide short term emergency support, community pantries and social kitchens intend to offer a longer term alternative to food insecurity and food waste.
We are now inspired, and pondering creative ways to raise awareness and access to these spaces. How can we support them to become more networked through art? What role might creative campaigning and working with artists play? How can we get creative, whilst making food and eating together?
Our collective exploration of radical care began with our Futures of Care programme in 2021, asking how we can centre care in productivity centred systems; Interdependence is a key element of radical care as we acknowledge that all individuals and communities are interconnected, and that care should not be an isolated act but part of a broader commitment to collective well-being.
“The idea of interdependence is that we can meet each other’s needs in a variety of ways, that we can truly lean on others and they can lean on us. It means we have to decentralize out ideas of where solutions and decisions happen, where ideas come from.”
Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy
In May 2022, we collaborated with artist Henry James Garrett in response to the cost-of-living crisis to create illustrations to decorate three community pantries in East Kent. This year, we will be delving deeper as we reflect on our role as an organisation seeking to make art, connect people, and work for change.
