FOOD LIVES TOWER HAMLETS

EXHIBITION LAUNCH: 1st June 4-7pm for residents at St Georges Estate, Shadwell

On 1^st June, from 4-7pm we’ll be holding an event on the St George’s estate to showcase some of the photos by Tower Hamlets residents created during the food photography course. The launch event will include:

– Delicious free food cooked by local chefs

– Lots of activities and fun for little ones and teens – with prizes!

– Activities for adults too

– Plenty of chances to help us learn about food by getting involved with our research

– Information about local food histories

– The chance to learn about lovely local walks

Bring your invitation for a free meal

Contact E.Swan@sussex.ac.uk to find out more. 

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FOOD LIVES TOWER HAMLETS

The University of Sussex and the Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) have launched a new programme on the St George’s Estate in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets called Food Lives Tower Hamlets. It’s all about the role food plays in our lives and the importance of history, culture and heritage to our food habits.

Food Lives Tower Hamlets is part of the FoodSEqual project, a 5-year research programme funded by UKRI and led by the University of Reading. The project involves universities, communities and food companies working alongside communities to create a better food environment. In essence, FoodSEqual wants to make it easier for people to access the food they want and need for happy and healthy lives. But it’s also about the environment – some foods have a higher impact on the planet than others.  

Wen have been running food sessions with communities across Tower Hamlets for over 10 years. They’ve also led the Tower Hamlets Food Partnership since 2018.

The University of Sussex, near Brighton, has a track record in research on food and sustainability. Dr Elaine Swan, a feminist food researcher, lives in Tower Hamlets and has worked closely with Wen’s Local Food team for several years.  

Want to know more? Listen to the Our House podcast where Jo Wilson, Shazna Hussain and Sajna Miah of the Women’s Environmental Network and Dr Elaine Swan of the University of Sussex discuss the programme: https://tinyurl.com/y2pvahbj

Watch this short film about how The Orchard community garden founded by Genia and Jim on the estate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gX4dMyzqnk

WHO IS ON THE RESEARCH TEAM?

There are several members of the team: Jo and Julie from Wen; and Elaine, Katerina and Jesse from the University of Sussex. Elaine, Katerina and Jesse study food and sustainability in communities. We also have brought two local resident researchers into the Wen team: Shazna Hussain and Sajna Miah. 

Shazna Hussain 

“I am a mother of 4 beautiful children. I was born in the East End and have a great interest in homemade food. The diverse community we have in Tower Hamlets is immensely interesting. I am looking forward to learning about the different cultural dishes and finding out about whether there are obstacles people are facing to provide their families nutritional meals.” 

Sajna Miah 

“I was born and brought up in Tower Hamlets. I am currently a volunteer at my local food bank for Eastend Homes.  The pandemic has been a very difficult time for many families across Tower Hamlets and more and more families are reaching out to food banks. Joining the community food researchers project will give me an opportunity to explore and understand how people from different backgrounds may use different foods in their daily life and the impact it has on individuals and their family’s health.”  

Taking part

Email Elaine to take part in the research and to find about our research ethics forms at e.swan@sussex.ac.uk. Or find the ethics forms in this folder https://sussex.app.box.com/s/injcruafkukqnhcbulufntmeoffoz19m

Dr Elaine Swan is a Senior Researcher at University of Sussex. She tweets at @DrElaineSwan1 and is a contributor to Servings: Critical Race Feminist Studies of Food Work and Food Pedagogies.

You can find out more about the FoodSEqual programme on Twitter at @foodsequal 

Find out more about Tower Hamlets Food Partnership.

Previous Events

In October, the University of Sussex worked with Wen to hold two events on the St George’s where they met residents and learned about people’s food memories, and their likes and dislikes. They also talked about their shopping habits, from Iceland to Chrisp Street and Watney Markets.  

In January, they ran an 8-week food photography course with Tower Hamlets residents, led by Pierre Bureau of Mindful Photo Lab, which celebrates mindfulness and art to improve wellbeing and community connection. 

Allotments on the St George’s Estate 

Throughout March and April, the University of Sussex and Wen ran fortnightly coffee mornings on the estate, where some of the research team were available for a chat and a hot drink.