Stories of Sustenance, Nourishment, and Feasting

Abstract

This article describes community formed within the grassroots mutual aid organization Community Food Support (CFS) located on lək̓ʷəŋən territory (“Victoria, B.C.”) and explores how components of mutual aid frameworks are employed within CFS Delivery Program’s sorting space to support the building of this community. An experiential study was constructed using a feminist activist ethnographic approach to outline the crucial role of storytelling in the CFS community. Through a thematic analysis of the data, stories of place and care addressed the research questions and pointed to the importance of connection, relationships, education, sharing, and play in establishing a collective identity and sustaining the organizing space. These findings were connected to civic muscle and creative placemaking, which highlight the capacity for mutual aid efforts to promote change and actively shape social, political, and geographic space through creative and relational means.