When everyone belongs, there’s a seat for all of us at the table.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) are an important part of our work to end hunger in Ontario. As the province’s largest collective of food banks, DEIB plays an essential role in how we support our network, how we advocate for change, and how we make sure food banks can be there for anyone who needs their help.
But what is DEIB, and how do these frameworks help us drive innovation and collaboration as an organization?
What is DEIB?
While DEIB has become a widely-used term, it holds more nuance than you may have considered. For example, you might have heard the term diversity referred to in narrow terms, but it actually includes traits we all have and can embrace, like age, our class background, where we’re from, race, our religion or secular beliefs, gender, ability, and even if we live in an urban or rural area.
Each piece of the acronym DEIB is an important component of how we put these concepts into practice:
- Diversity includes all the different facets of our identities and how they intersect and make us unique.
- Equity means understanding that everyone has different needs informed by their diverse background.
- Inclusion looks like valuing and helping to facilitate everyone’s full participation in the community.
- Belonging means cultivating the feeling that there’s a seat for everyone at the table.
As an organization that works to end hunger, understanding the needs of the many diverse communities throughout the province and finding ways to make our services more accessible to everyone who needs them is essential. DEIB helps strengthen this work.
How is our work related to DEIB?
But our work isn’t just made more impactful through strong DEIB frameworks: our work is often an expression of these values, in ways that might surprise you.
The clearest example of this is our work to ensure food banks can be there for anyone who needs to turn to them. We support food banks by keeping their shelves stocked and making sure they can develop and continue providing essential programs to meet the needs of their communities.
This could look like providing food that meets dietary restrictions, like gluten-free pasta, or cultural needs, like Kosher or Halal foods. It can also look like hosting a seniors’ social or offering school supplies to help kids feel like they fit in with their peers.
As we work to end hunger in the future, we advocate for solutions that will reduce poverty in Ontario. Understanding the challenges people experiencing poverty are facing and championing evidence-based policies that address the root causes of hunger are another key part of this work.
Another way DEIB is expressed in our work is how we support our network. From finding ways to share resources and warehouse space, to creating opportunities to collaborate, to working together to strengthen food access in remote regions of the province, we work directly with food banks to make sure they can help those who need to turn to them in their communities.
How we’re making strides
As part of our commitment to organizational excellence, we’re making strides by integrating DEIB into our programs and systems, enhancing inclusivity, and creating spaces of continuous learning.
To guide our progress, we’ve created multi-year strategies focused on advancing our commitment to DEIB and Truth and Reconciliation. Last year, we began implementing these strategies, which included expanding staff training, developing internal policies to improve equity and inclusion, and offering webinars and learning opportunities to food banks across the network.
Moving forward, we will continue to build upon these steps by prioritizing strong DEIB practices and investing in opportunities that make food banks more accessible to everyone in need in Ontario.
We’re proud to keep learning and growing as an organization as we work to end hunger. Check out more information about who Feed Ontario is and find out more about how we’re strengthening food banks across the province.