From Newcomer Support to Food Access: CICS Builds Community in the GTA

“I always say it’s a bit of a minor miracle story,” Alfred Lam, executive director at the Centre for Immigrant and Community Services (CICS), said with a smile. “We started in Chinatown 58 years ago, when a group of students saw newcomers who didn’t speak English and were facing many struggles.”

What began as interpretation and language support has grown into a multi-service organization serving more than 20,000 people each year across eight locations in the GTA.

CICS’s food program is a more recent addition. Led by Victoria Liu, community health manager, the program launched in 2020 as a temporary response to urgent need but has since become permanent.

With around a quarter of clients following a halal diet, Victoria ensures halal meats and vegetarian options are available and safely stored. For seniors, she focuses on improving health literacy and access to familiar, culturally appropriate produce.

“You can be a newbie in the garden,” Victoria said. “We provide workshops to build your growing knowledge. We have a seed library; it’s one stop for everything.”

In the spring and summer, gardening programs take place outdoors and in the organization’s greenhouse. Community members are invited to grow their own seedlings and learn together and vegetables grown in the garden beds are shared through the food bank.

“Usually we grow Asian vegetables as well as universal varieties like lettuce and broccoli,” Victoria said. “And everything is organic.”

When the Second Harvest truck arrives on Fridays, drivers work with Victoria to identify produce that will resonate with clients and feel familiar and easy to prepare.

“Just like in many Asian cultures, food is incredibly important,” Alfred said, reflecting on his and Victoria’s shared Chinese background.

“In Chinese culture, for thousands of years, meal times and the dinner table have brought people together. From negotiating a wedding to navigating business deals, so much happens around the table. Food is a central part of our identity and how we connect as a community.”

At the same time, Alfred acknowledged the challenges many people face when accessing food programs.

“Food is inalienable. It is a basic human right that everyone should enjoy,” he said. “But there’s still stigma. In our culture, there can be a strong sense of honour and shame and visiting a food bank is not something people always feel comfortable talking about.”

That’s why CICS works intentionally to create an environment where people feel respected and included.

“We want to eliminate that sense of otherness,” Alfred said. “It’s an ongoing education for all of us.”

“Our food program is just like any other program we operate,” Alfred said. “Everything we do goes toward building community. And community is built when people feel a sense of belonging, a sense of contribution and that their dignity is respected.”

Opportunities to contribute through volunteering were woven throughout the organization’s programming, from gardening to supporting the food bank.

“Food is such a natural platform to bring people together — it’s an equalizer,” Alfred said.

He recalled a moment from a garden event the previous summer, where staff, clients and local leaders came together to celebrate what they had grown.

“I turned around and saw our MPP speaking with one of our clients,” he said. “They were standing next to an eggplant, talking about how their families used to grow eggplant when they were kids, sharing recipes and stories.”

“In that moment, there was no longer an MPP and a newcomer client, just people connecting over food, heritage and memory,” he added.  

It was an image Alfred described as a perfect example of community.

“When we make it possible for people to come together on equal footing, that’s how community gets built.”

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