Shoelace Collective

The Shoelace Collective – by David Bowring

I first discovered the Shoelace collective by accident. I was trying to track down fresh, locally grown vegetables. A phone call to Field to Table, the Toronto organiser of the Good Food Box system identified two distribution centres in my area. One was inactive, but the other was, and still is, a going concern operating out of the basement of a local Baptist Church.  Along one wall were stacks of plastic bins (green of course!) After paying out my 12 dollars was shown a bin of my size. After transferring the cucumber, carrots, apples and bananas. I looked back at the modest printed notice tape to the wall. “Garden plots available.”

Three plots are available on the North side of Woodbine Heights Baptist Church, and that is part of the ministry of a jury-rigged cluster of programs going under the name of “The Shoelace Collective” The Woodbine Heights area is lies at the heart of East York a modest suburb of single family dwellings and small apartment buildings a few minutes from the core of Toronto.  In recent years the population of Anglo-Canadian middle class has been slowly penetrated by rivulets of the immigration that have made Toronto the most multicultural city in the world.  The prosperous retired population of white faces is slowly changing into a less prosperous mix from six continents. Many of the bungalows and two story houses host basement apartments needed by young people, disabled and others too poor for the apartment buildings and unable to access the underfunded public housing developments.  Despite forced amalgamation with the rest of Toronto, East York retains much of the flavour of a small town.
 

Recent studies by the Toronto Board of Health have shown that poverty increases the negative effects of climate change. Disruption of food supply chains will hit persons who are already eating poorly. Worsened and more frequent storms, hot and cold spells are felt more strongly by those who are housed in decaying buildings. Transportation disruptions have stronger effects on those who cannot drive or get rides from their friends. When the economy is damaged and government money is redirected to infrastructure repairs, social service programs are cut.
   

It is hard to know what a church can do when faced with the massive social, political and economic issues of making eco-justice. One approach that needs few resources and yields visible results is to address the immediate needs of marginalized people in your neighbourhood. Shoelace collective was put together in March 2007 by people in the Woodbine Heights area to take action together for their own betterment and their neighbours.’ A week congregate meal was started, offering balance and delicious meals cooked mostly from scratch to anyone who walks in from the street. A part-time nurse was hired to help serve and deal with the occasional wound or sickness that clients walk in with. Regulars are encouraged to help with meal preparation and clean up. An evening meal once a month has been added with speakers on such issues as medical services for the disabled, elderly and impoverished.  Recently, Shoelace has become a hub of a not for profit harvesting organisation called Not Far from the Tree. Some of the trees that are the pride and ornament of East York bear apples, pears and other fruits. These are often not harvested by owners who think buy their fresh fruits from stores (or a nearby farmers’ market.) Not far from the Tree registers trees, collects the harvest and cans it or donates it to a food bank. They return one third of the owners in jars for winter eating.
   

Shoelace Collective is an example of the mustard seed principle applied to eco-justice. They have hopes of getting involved with advocacy and influencing the shape of the neighbourhood over the years, but for now they are making small differences in the lives of the people who walk in the side door of Woodbine Heights The people who give and receive the services of the collective are bound together literally by their shoelaces. Not all can afford to own cars, and public transit is sometimes a problem, but they all can lace up a pair of shoes and work for Christ in their neighbour.