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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Growing for good: U of Regina garden produce feeds hungry stomachs
Fresh produce harvested from a garden at the University of Regina is helping combat food insecurity and teaching people about the art of gardening. Members of the Regina Public Interest Research Group — a student-funded resource centre at the university with a focus on social and environmental justice — have been growing vegetables, from zucchini to tomatoes to spinach, in a garden located behind the Dr. John Archer Library since the spring. They've harvested over 100 kilograms of vegetables, which are then donated to local organizations, including the Cathedral Community Fridge, Carmichael Outreach and YWCA Regina. Tayef Ahmed, the group's executive director, said some of the food also gets donated to a fridge run by the University of Regina Students' Union, which students can access. According to a 2024 study by University of Saskatchewan students, nearly a third of Canadian post-secondary students said they experienced food insecurity in 2023. While Regina's public interest group is currently collecting U of R-specific data, Ahmed said demand for the food donated to the student union's fridge has increased. "Within five to 10 minutes, almost all of the food [is] gone," said Ahmed. "We have way more interest or demand in getting vegetables than we ever anticipated." Ahmed said newcomers to Canada are the largest group among the fridge's clientele. As a result, his group has started growing a more diverse variety of foods to suit their needs, such as amaranth and peppers, he said. "When people from different backgrounds comes and says, 'Hey, I used to grow up eating this, I'm so glad I got this' … they would come every week and say, 'Can I have some vegetables?'" Ahmed believes the fresh vegetables in the garden offer an alternative for more expensive produce at the grocery store, which may also be damaged or close to expiration, he said. His organization is now expanding its garden and offering gardening sessions, which Ahmed hopes will help students find ways to grow their own food. "Eventually, when they buy a new house or apartment … they get this education themselves, and when they get older, they start something [of] their own," he said. Community organizations grateful for food Grayson Somers works in the kitchen at Carmichael Outreach, which serves lunch to people experiencing homelessness in Regina every weekday. He said the produce from the garden is put to good use. "We prepare it all and we'll make meals — about 150 to 250 meals per day," said Somers. "With the grocery stores nowadays, the price changes, and I just think everyone should be growing their own gardens." The produce will be similarly used in the YWCA Regina's kitchen. "We don't typically get this much fresh produce," said Mackenzie Thiessen, who works in the YWCA's outreach area. "To have a lot of it will mean a lot." Thiessen said their clients are "like a kid in a candy store" when they see the fresh food. "When you're on the street, you don't get access to fresh stuff often. It humanizes their experience, makes them feel normal, regular." Back in the garden at the U of R, garden assistant Brooke Litzenberger laughs as she shows volunteers how to pick beans in the hot August sun. She's spent hours working since the spring to get everything ready for harvest. "Being able to give back to the community … and watch everyone enjoy everything that we've worked so hard with has been a really great part of this job." Regina community garden provides fresh free vegetables to local groups 2 days ago The University of Regina community garden is a place to learn about gardening as well as providing vegetables to a handful of charitable organizations in the city.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
‘Live my life out loud': P.E.I. woman battling cancer encourages others to ‘just live'
Prince Edward Islander Michelle Hughes is documenting her cancer journey daily, while encouraging others to live and embrace the joy in everyday. (Source: Facebook / My Journey to Just Live) Michelle Hughes is on a journey to 'just live,' and she's encouraging others to do the same. The 38-year-old Prince Edward Islander from Cornwall is a mother of three young children. She's also battling stage four incurable cancer. Four years ago, and three weeks after giving birth to her third child, Hughes was diagnosed with stage four Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, or EHE. The Canadian Cancer Society describes EHE as 'a cancerous (malignant) tumour that starts in the blood vessels.' At the time, an oncologist gave her three to five years to live. 'Obviously, I was heartbroken and devastated and envisioned my husband raising our children all by himself. And that oncologist really left a mark in my heart thinking that I need to savour every moment moving forward for these children because they're not going to remember me,' explains Hughes in an interview with CTV Atlantc. 'Thankfully, I came about another oncologist who was a sarcoma cancer specialist at the Princess Margaret (Cancer Centre). And she had said, 'Sure, you could die in those five years. You could die in three years. But I have patients living for decades. And I have hope for you, so I want you to just live.'' The conversation was a turning point for Hughes. 'That's when I realized that tomorrow is not promised to anybody. And I took her slogan, and ran with it, literally. It changed my life. I decided to live my life out loud.' Michelle Hughes Four years ago, Michelle Hughes was diagnosed with stage four Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, or EHE. (Source: Facebook / My Journey to Just Live) She started by documenting her cancer battle online under the banner My Journey To Just Live. She also wanted to create daily posts with her husband, Ty, and young children as a family keepsake. 'For them to look back and see all the fun memories that we've captured, and all the joy that we've been chasing as a family. But it's evolved into so much more as people actually started to read it and to follow along. And I never envisioned that in a million years, so that's not at all what I set out when I started my journey to just live.' Michelle Hughes Michelle Hughes is pictured with her husband and three children. (Source: Facebook / My Journey to Just Live) Along with challenging herself physically, Hughes' decision to 'just live' included a mind shift change. 'Like, things that you used to just take for granted in life are something that you value every moment of every day,' she says. 'For example, walking my children to the bus stop is my favourite part of my everyday, because when I get to stand there and see my two girls looking out the window back at me and I'm there smiling at them, it's amazing. It's a beautiful feeling because my four-year-old son's hand, who I'm holding, he might not get that opportunity.' Michelle Hughes Michelle Hughes is pictured with her son. (Source: Facebook / My Journey to Just Live) Making an impact People following her journey include over 96,000 on Facebook and 446,000 on Instagram. Her daily posts serve as a diary entry: experiences with the family, daily errands, feelings, life lessons and self reflection. 'It gives a raw, real perspective of what it's like in my journey to just live because, you know, we could meet somebody else who has stage four cancer as well, but we might be walking completely different lives,' says Hughes. 'So, I always just reiterate that this is my journey to just live, and it's been beautiful to connect with cancer survivors and survivors around the world, and just people suffering with chronic health conditions, and hearing from them how me living my life out loud has supported them, and it's been so beautiful to be a part of.' Michelle also has a podcast, and was featured in a documentary called The Journey Home, where she ran, cycled and swam a total of 120 kilometres from the Moncton Hospital to her home in P.E.I. Michelle Hughes Michelle Hughes is pictured in a gym. (Source: Facebook / My Journey to Just Live) Forward thinking Hughes is choosing to 'just live' alongside battling cancer. 'Unfortunately, right now, over the last few weeks my liver pain has come back, and it's out of the norm for me. I'll be going in my CT scan again next week.' Hughes says the cancer she has is 'considered incurable' and there isn't a 'standard protocol' for treating it. In the coming weeks, she'll begin participating in a new clinical trial out of Toronto. 'It is not a pharmaceutically sponsored trial. So, all costs will be on us, but it's not stopping us. We're moving forward because we have hope that it's going to help bring me back to stability as my cancer has been progressing since last year. It's been growing every three months.' Despite these challenges, Hughes isn't slowing down. While preparing for the clinical trial to begin, she is also planning the third annual Just Live Fun Run in Cornwall, P.E.I. on Sunday, Aug. 24. More than 1,500 people have registered, and 500 race kits have been shipped to 12 countries for people who will be participating virtually. 'Last year alone we raised $108,000. All proceeds go to Sarcoma Cancer Foundation of Canada, where they match every dollar.' Michelle Hughes Michelle Hughes is planning the third annual Just Live Fun Run in Cornwall, P.E.I. on Sunday, Aug. 24. (Source: Facebook / My Journey to Just Live) Hughes also has her sights set on her next endurance event in 2026. 'Next year will be my five year 'cancerversary' date. We have something really special we'll be announcing in the coming months. It's going to be so difficult, but I think it's what my body needs and what I mentally need to get through this clinical trial because, obviously, I'm scared, and it's going to be a rough journey. But I need something physically to set my body up for success and to mentally keep me in the game. And I'm really excited to announce this next endurance event that I'm about to do.' As for anyone looking to 'just live' her advice is simple. 'Just live in the moment. It doesn't cost money. You don't have to exert yourself. It's literally just standing in a moment that you don't know you'll have forever and just savouring it.' For more P.E.I. news, visit ourdedicated provincial page.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Teammates, friends mourn Scarborough basketball star in the making
When Adeena Razzaq showed up at the Jarvis Collegiate Institute basketball court in Toronto this week, she arrived wearing her brother's clothes. "Ever since I was a kid I've been wearing his clothes," the 18-year-old told CBC Toronto. "He got mad at me a few times, but he got used to it." It's one of the many ways she'll hold onto memories of her older brother Affan, who died earlier this month from cancer at age 20. Then there's his sport — the game that drew him in from the time he was six or seven years old, and which he was on the road to pursuing professionally. "Whenever I see basketball, I just see him," said Razzaq. Standing at six feet eight inches, Scarborough's Affan Razzaq had accepted a scholarship to play basketball at Northern Oklahoma College and hoped to take his place in the NBA draft one day. Last December, he was diagnosed with brain cancer, but continued to train even as he underwent aggressive treatment for the disease. He last stepped onto a court at Jarvis C.I. in July, just weeks before he died. A 'really humble' teammate Omar Nicholls, one of Affan's coaches, says the young man's height and skills helped rack up wins at many tournaments and championships over the years, but that it was his abilities as a teammate that stood out. "A really humble kid, really nice, never argued with anybody, never cursed," said Nicholls. "He's just an amazing kid to be around." Nicholls, who co-founded a program called NuStep Basketball with his partner Elisha Romain in 2013, helped train Affan for the last six years, watching as he strove to reach the level of his basketball heroes like Kevin Durant. The couple were the first to be told about the cancer diagnosis outside the Razzaq family. "To know that we meant that much to him was a lot," said Romain, who said she dove headfirst into researching Affan's disease and trying to find ways to help him feel grounded and supported. Like his family, Nicholls describes Affan as a fighter. "In the hospital, he kept on talking about, you know, hopefully he can get out of here soon, get discharged," he said. "Right to the very end. He said, 'I'm going to get out of here.'" An outpouring of grief Affan's funeral, held on Monday in Pickering, Ont., brought out scores of former teammates and friends, says longtime family friend Ibrahim Daniyal. "The mosque management was amazed to see how many Canadian youth came to say goodbye to him. It was not one community. It was Canadians of all creeds, faiths, ethnicities," Daniyalsaid. That support is a source of some comfort for the Razzaq family, including Affan's parents. "His mother is just praying for him. That's what she's doing all the time," said Daniyal. Affan's younger brother, 14-year-old Ayaan Razzaq, said he's lost both a protector and a role model. "He was kind of the person who just wanted to look out for me, and … really just wanted the best for me," he said. Outside of his grieving family and friends, some of who Affan Razzaq was lives on online, where he filled out a LinkedIn profile last year, complete with a photo of himself mid-dunk. "Kobe Bryant once said 'The moment you give up, is the moment you let someone else win.' I live by this quote everyday," wrote Affan. "My dream is to make it to the NBA, and I wont give up until I make it."
