Chinatown Cares | Vancouver, Canada
The Chinatown Cares Grocery Program
The Chinatown Cares Grocery Program started as an emergency response program in March 2020 to ensure access to affordable, fresh and culturally-appropriate groceries for isolated and homebound seniors mainly from Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. In September 2021, full operations of the program were transitioned over to Yarrow, in partnership with SUCCESS’s Safe Seniors, Strong Communities initiative.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been making it difficult for local Chinatown residents, particularly those with limited means and mobility to find options for groceries. We address this need by helping to source, package, and deliver bags full of culturally-appropriate grocery staples to the community. Retail gentrification in the area is also threatening food security. Over the past 5-6 years, Chinatown has lost many grocery stores and restaurants that are affordable for the seniors that live in the neighbourhood. Gentrifying a neighbourhood is not just stripping away its history and culture but it is also stripping away lifestyles, and we remind ourselves to keep this in mind as we continue this grocery program.
Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice:
Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice 世代同行會 supports youth and low-income immigrant seniors in Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside. We build power in our community through intergenerational relationship building, and by helping seniors overcome language and cultural barriers to services that meet their basic needs. We combine service provision and grassroots organizing, with a core belief that service work is political and that as a community, we have the tools we need to take care of one another. We empower seniors and youth to work together to improve their communities and tackle the difficult problems of oppression and violence. Our vision is of a Chinatown that is intergenerational and thriving, with accessible and culturally relevant services and an environment that cherishes our seniors and youth.
Yarrow recognizes and values the diversity of everyone in our community. As an organization, we are committed to welcoming and affirming the human rights of all people, including people of colour, indigenous peoples, LGBTQ people, sex workers, and people with disabilities.
BIO
Minnie is a 1.5 Generation Chinese settler from Hong Kong and currently resides on the unceded Coast Salish territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh Nations. They are the volunteer & youth coordinator at Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice. Minnie strongly believes that collective care is what keeps communities safe and thriving. Programming from their portfolio includes Sticky Rice Collective, Covid-19 Senior Support, Medical Accompaniment, & lastly, the Chinatown Cares program. Thanks to the help of dedicated volunteers, Yarrow Society is able to help reduce isolation during the pandemic and create lasting intergenerational relationships.
Celyne is a queer Cantonese settler born on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. She moved to Hong Kong with her family at the age of 4 and moved back to Vancouver when she was 10 years old. Celyne is currently the grocery program coordinator at Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice. She continues to carry deep sentiments of these two places and often questions what it means to call a city home. She holds a BA in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies from SFU. Being mixed Han Chinese and Indian, she understands the complexity of identity and uses this understanding to navigate her queerness through poetry.