Nourishment Circles

Chef T, teaching participants of a Nourishment Circle session about how to make a nutritious and affordable meal.

 
 

What it is

Nourishment Circles is a survivor-centred, community-led program that brings people together around food, healing, and collective visioning. Rooted in the understanding that access to food is both a basic need and a pathway to dignity, connection, and recovery, the Circles create space for participants to cook, eat, reflect, and imagine what food justice can look like in Ottawa.

Each Circle weaves together a shared meal, gentle facilitation, and creative dreaming. Participants learn to prepare nutritious and affordable food, gather in community, and engage in guided conversation about nourishment, access, and the systems that shape our ability to feel safe and cared for.

Who it’s for

Nourishment Circles are designed primarily for survivors of gender-based violence and community members experiencing food insecurity. The program is grounded in trauma and violence-informed and culturally responsive practices, and centres lived experience, care, and choice. Supporters and allies may also be present, contributing to a welcoming and non-judgmental environment.

What we do together

During a Nourishment Circle, participants:

  • Cook a nutritious, affordable meal together

  • Share food in a supportive, community setting

  • Reflect on personal and cultural relationships to food

  • Discuss barriers to food access and safety

  • Take part in collective “dreaming” about a food-secure Ottawa for survivors

The Circles are intentionally paced and facilitated to prioritize safety, agency, and connection. Each gathering recognizes food not only as sustenance, but as culture, memory, care, and resistance.

What we’ve learned

Through Nourishment Circles, participants have shared powerful insights about the intersections between food insecurity, gender-based violence, poverty, migration, disability, and systemic inequity. We’ve learned that:

  • Food security is deeply tied to safety, dignity, and healing

  • Survivors face structural barriers that go far beyond individual choice

  • Community-based spaces can foster trust, reflection, and collective hope

  • Survivors hold critical knowledge that must inform policy, advocacy, and systems change

Participant feedback continues to guide how we grow and improve this program, and informs broader advocacy and policy conversations within OCTEVAW’s work.

Photos from the Circles

Images from past Nourishment Circles capturing shared meals, creative dreaming, and community connection.

Looking ahead

Based on strong participant feedback, we are actively seeking new funding to continue and expand Nourishment Circles in future years. These gatherings have shown us what is possible when survivors are centred, communities are nourished, and care is treated as collective responsibility.

Interested in supporting or learning more? Connect with Astara at astara@octevaw-cocvff.ca.