Plant-Based Pow Wow: A Cultural Collaboration

In the Summer of 2024, Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank piloted an innovative, collaborative, and culturally significant new project at the Serpent River pow wow.

In Spring 2024, Veg Food Bank directors Eric Vautour and Matt Noble were sitting and talking about the intersections of veganism and indigeneity (food, animals, Nature, philosophies) and about the concept of a fully plant-based pow wow. Pipe dreaming about big ideas.

But in that same conversation Matt and Eric discussed the more realistic idea of doing an Indigenous plant-based food booth, in the Summer, at the Serpent River Pow Wow (in Eric's dad's community).

The idea could be designed to align with Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank's mandates of making food more accessible, while at the same time providing cultural education and inspiration around food

.

Monique Vautour (Eric's sister) already had the idea for a plant-based Indian Taco stand called Yummy Things.

To help bring Yummy Things to life, they discussed how a sponsorship could advance their shared values of increasing access to cultural foods (and food access in general), Indigenous representation, and honouring and celebrating food.

Indian Tacos - bean chili and scone (pronounced "scon")(a fried bread) topped with lettuce, green onion, homemade quac and plant-based sour cream - are not a historically Indigenous cultural food, but have become part of the culture and are now enjoyed at traditional and social gatherings and celebrations.

Many Indigenous peoples have their own versions of scone, but it's always enjoyed in community, and made in big batches to share with family and friends.

The food was a success. And with a small sponsorship from Veg Food Bank, Yummy Things was able to keep the prices low, while representing Indigenous veganism at the pow wow.

People loved the oat milk ice coffees!

The ice coffees attracted people who came for the coffee but stayed for the plant-based Indian Tacos.

For some it was their first experience with oat milk. Using a plant-based milk was Monique's idea to help make the food offerings more accessible for the many who can't or don't consume dairy products, while also exposing them to new options.

The partnership is an example of how the animal protection movement can work with Indigenous communities in a good way around food - working from a place of friendship and collaboration.

There was a moment at the end of the pow wow where a young Indigenous girl walked by the booth and said that she was so happy that Yummy Things had been there, and thought it would be cool to see it at other pow wows in the future.

The 2024 pilot collaboration was such an important success (culturally and for food access) that it’s coming back to the Serpent River pow wow again in the Summer of 2025, as well as to the Sheguiandah pow wow (in Eric's community), and possibly a pow wow in Toronto.

A closing note about Indigenous food security and sovereignty…

A staggering 2 in 5 Indigenous people face food insecurity in Canada, and a recent StatCan study discovered that, in 2024, most indigenous people reported that rising prices were affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses, including their ability to afford healthy and nutritious food.

Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank’s Put Food Banks Out Of Business campaign focuses on eliminating food insecurity in Canada, by providing a guaranteed liveable basic income floor, so that no one can fall below the poverty line.

Sign up for our newsletter (below) to stay informed about our work with the City of Toronto, our plant-based culinary trainings for the charitable sector, updates about the food bank, and our national basic income campaign Put Food Banks Out Of Business.