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Community Kitchen: Celebrating Black Heritage with SOCA
February 27 @ 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Community Kitchen: Celebrating Black Heritage with SOCA
Date & Time
Thur, Feb 27, 2025
5:30 PM – 9:30 PM PDT
Location
SUB Community Kitchen, room #2125 – SFU Burnaby
Join us for an extra special Community Kitchen celebrating Black History! We are excited to be joined by Stacy and Mekeil from the SFU Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCA), who will be sharing easy-to-make Jamaican and Kenyan recipes. This event aims to inspire participants to prepare home-cooked meals and preserve cultural bonds through food and shared dining experiences. The featured dishes are thoughtfully chosen to bridge cultural divides within the Caribbean and African diaspora, recognizing food as a vital means of community-building and restoration. While the month-long celebration comes to a close, every day we’re witnessing Black History!
Land Acknowledgement
This event takes place on the unceded homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛw̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Stacy Kimani
Stacy’s involvement with SOCA is driven by their passion for community-building in spaces that uplift and empower marginalized voices. Stacy grew up on their family’s farm, where cooking with fresh, homegrown ingredients was part of their daily life. Having supported small, local farmers and buying from roadside markets in Kenya, Stacy now brings that same love for sustainable and local ingredients to Vancouver while preserving the traditions that shape who they are today. They love recreating childhood meals and experimenting with new recipes inspired by her cultural roots.
This Black History Month, Stacy aims to inspire others to embrace home-cooked meals—not just for health, but for the stories and heritage they bring. Through this community kitchen, they hope to create a space where food brings people together to share, learn, and celebrate the flavors that shape us.
Mekeil Wilson
Mekeil is a third-year Sociology major and currently serves as an Executive-at-Large for SOCA. Being born and raised in Jamaica has taught them the importance of food in a building community. Growing up, their family was deeply involved in farming and poultry raising. Mekeil was encouraged to cultivate seasonal fruits and vegetables in their backyard, which fostered a deep understanding of food’s importance. Visits to local markets further strengthened their bond with fresh, locally-grown produce. These experiences shaped their belief that food is a fundamental right—one that should be nutritious, accessible, and life-sustaining.
Moving to Canada deepened Mekeil’s passion for food justice and the importance of equitable access to healthy, culturally diverse food. Their favorite Jamaican dish is curry goat, and they’re also a fan of cheesecake! The phrase “Likkle but we tallawah” (though we’re small, we’re strong) reflects their resilient spirit.
Event Accessibility
Embark Sustainability events are free and open to Embark Sustainability members which includes Simon Fraser University undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Embark Sustainability Associate Members.
This event will be held indoors at the SUB Community Kitchen, room #2125 of the Student Union Building (SUB), SFU Burnaby. Accessibility details include:
- As we’ll be addressing sensitive topics, it’s important that our attendees are able to address their needs in the moment. Attendees are free to opt in and opt out of activities as suits their needs throughout the event, including exiting and re-entering the event space.
- Some appliances and counter areas of this room are not accessible when using a wheelchair or other mobility aids. The dining/lounge area is accessible when using a wheelchair or other mobility aids.
- We aim to host a scent-free space. Please refrain from wearing scented products in attendance of this event.
- Unfortunately, we cannot provide ASL interpretation at this time. We will be providing written recipe instructions.
We aim to make our events accessible to as many of our community members as possible. If we can take further action to make this event accessible to you, please contact Embark Sustainability’s Director of Engagement at engagement@embarksustainability.org.
Health & Safety
Participants who register are agreeing to release Embark Sustainability Society from any liability related to COVID-19. Masks are optional but encouraged.
Community Agreement
By registering to attend this event, you are agreeing to be respectful when listening to and communicating with others, and be mindful of the space you are taking up amongst your peers.
Embark Sustainability does not tolerate violence or aggression against others on the basis of race, ethnicity, place of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or ability. Please also refer to people using the introductions they provide and do not assume pronouns/gender/knowledge based on someone’s name or appearance.
If these agreements are broken by someone, we will have to ensure the safety of our community members by removing them from the event.
Questions
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Embark’s Food Justice Coordinator at food@embarksustainability.org.
