Flavours of Hope - 50 Stories for 50 Years (Story # 33)
In June 2023, Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House's hall was packed. Five newcomer entrepreneurs were launching their food businesses through Flavours of Hope's Dream Cuisine program, and the community celebration had over 100 attendees. For Flavours of Hope founder Trixie Ling, the supportive energy from the neighbourhood crowd was electric.
“It's about bringing people, neighbours together, women in our community together to celebrate other women. And both the Flavours of Hope team and the MPNH team able to celebrate together. I think that for me, that kind of unifying moment — those are really special memories.”
Today MPNH can't accommodate the annual launch: the party has gotten too big.
Trixie started the Dream Cuisine program in 2021, working one-on-one with five newcomer women a year for eight months at a stretch, turning culinary skill into a business plan. When the City of Vancouver connected Flavours of Hope with Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House through a food-systems grant, Trixie saw more than borrowed space.
“Our partnership is a good example that two small organizations can really lift each other up by collaborating. We all have limited resources, but when we can pull those resources together, we can really be able to do the things that we envision despite our limited capacity.”
It's a model she thinks the nonprofit sector needs more of.
"We live in a culture that is very competitive and scarcity minded."
Mount Pleasant has been the exception.
Cooking demonstrations, entrepreneurship talks, and, this year, two financial literacy sessions built specifically for food businesses ran on a simple exchange. Mount Pleasant provided the room. Flavours of Hope provided the expertise. Together they attracted the audience. And the two organizations began sending people to each other: newcomer women with food business ambitions moved from Mount Pleasant's entrepreneurship groups into Dream Cuisine; women in Dream Cuisine who needed housing and health support went back through Mount Pleasant's doors.
Dream Cuisine alumnae have gone on to teach cooking classes at Mount Pleasant, cater its events, and become vendors at its annual Holiday Market. Women who once needed an introduction are now the ones making it.
“The bigger goal is not just the business. The bigger goal is helping them feel there's a sense of connection, belonging in the community, and that they are leaders in the community.”
Trixie believes this is the ultimate measure of success.
“These women become the examples. They become mentors, role models for other women who struggle.”
Fifty years from now, on Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House's hundredth anniversary, what would Ling want someone from Flavours of Hope to be able to say?
“I'd love to hear the women say, they've done different things together, and that the creativity is still there.”
Story written by Signy Marcyniuk through an interview with the community partner during her practicum placement at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House.
50 Stories for 50 Years at MPNH is a collection of meaningful stories that celebrate the lasting impact our Neighbourhood House has had over the years. These stories come from long-time participants, families, youth, volunteers, community members, and regular visitors whose lives have been touched, supported, or transformed through our programs, services, and connections at the House.
