Choi On The Go is a mobile cart working to ****reconnect Chinese seniors in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (Historically called Canada’s Poorest Neighbourhood) back to their cultural foods by providing low-barrier access to fresh produce.
A mobile experience, instead of a stationary one, allowed us to reach more folks who may not otherwise access it
Touching veggies and choosing the best one is an important activity in our culture - this helped seniors feel they were getting the best deal.
Why is it paid? Well, because many seniors in our community feel they want to contribute to their community. By having a low-barrier price, they felt they were help us and therefore the neighborhood.
Many of the seniors loved to teach us tips and tricks to picking out the best food. They told us they felt a sense of pride that they could pass on this information.
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With my family's 120-year history in Vancouver Chinatown, the neighborhood holds a special place in my heart! Here's a photo of my uncle as a toddler running down one of its main streets.
The project started when I noticed a ****lack of healthy culturally relevant food for seniors in Vancouver Chinatown. I wondered where my elders were getting food, what kinds they were eating, and how the lack of access was affecting their health.
Curious and passionate about the neighborhood, I proposed this challenge to my classmates, who were eager to take it on.
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Jumping into secondary research, I learned that most seniors in our gentrifying neighborhood were struggling to pay for food as living costs rose. They had to choose between rent and groceries, leading to hunger or reliance on discriminatory aid agencies.
Many seniors still wanted to cook their traditional foods at home but didn’t have the money to afford produce. Our team saw an opportunity in the surplus of produce from local farmers - so we sought to close this gap.
Annette Cheung interview a senior at Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House