🌮 Taco 'Bout Climate: A Supper Club for Sustainability
Bringing Community Together Through Food, Conversation, and Climate Action.
Hey Climate Northerners!
On February 25th, we hosted Taco 'Bout Climate in partnership with Dihan Chandra from Spent Goods at the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI).
We came together with one main goal, to co-create as a community! Breaking bread while also breaking ground on ideas and action plans for real climate impact.
Here’s a recap of the night!
P.S. - If you didn’t see our last post for Voices, check out the interview with Dihan here.
🥑 FIRST, WE ATE!
Stepping into the CSI space on Tuesday was energizing!
Our community was greeted by a tropical playlist (a crowd favourite we quickly learned) along with a buzzing room of guests, eager to get to work on meal preparation for our taco dinner.
It was the perfect dose of warmth we needed on a very dreary day in Toronto.
Leading the assembly effort along with the Climate North team, was Dihan Chandra from Spent Goods, a Toronto-based food up-cycling company that takes surplus barley (typically wasted in the beer-making process) and transforms it into delicious baked goods. Judging by how quickly the pretzels vanished from the trays, it’s clear that they were an undeniable hit!
All hands were on deck as each person was assigned a taco-related task; from pickling onions, chopping veggies, to making guacamole. We worked in small groups to prepare bowls filled with each ingredient including a mango salsa, fried beans, grilled veggies, sliced tomatoes, and onions.
Once the frying, chopping, and mashing were complete, it was finally time to enjoy the fruits of our labour! In a family-style fashion, we gathered around our tables to assemble our tasty tacos and reap the rewards of our efforts.
Then the room was met with a happy silence… the true sign of a great meal.
This was far from your typical networking event—and that’s exactly what made it so special.
🦜 …AND THEN, WE CHATTED!
Once the plates were cleared and bellies were full, we gathered ‘round to taco 'bout climate. Guests were paired with new faces and posed with different questions, all in an effort to help us explore differing perspectives, bond over common views, and learn from each other's lived experiences. A few key themes came up during our conversations:
The importance of connection to help combat our fears and anxiety around climate.
How our individual actions connect to community efforts (eg. voting).
How global perspectives are necessary for a deeper and well-rounded climate conversation.
👆 MAIN TAKEAWAYS
1) Food is a Connector
Sharing a meal creates space for conversation, learning, and new friendships.
Cooking together breaks down barriers and brings people closer—even if it’s just over the best way to peel a mango!
2) Community is at the Root of it All
We each have our unique value and ability to contribute to the climate movement.
At the end of the night, Dihan asked attendees to raise their hands based on their area of focus—cleantech, education, policy, social entrepreneurship, climate art, and more. It was a powerful reminder that climate action isn’t one-size-fits-all—it takes all of us, different backgrounds and perspectives, working toward a shared goal.
Just like in the kitchen, where we all worked on different tasks that came together to create an incredible meal, climate action works best when we each bring our unique skills to the table.
🐝 DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT
So what was the consensus on our first-ever Supper Club?
First time attendees shared how much they appreciated the opportunity to learn from individuals in industries outside their own, while returning Climate Northerners were excited to re-engage in conversations with community members from past events and deepen their connections.
Many also shared how valuable community events like these are—offering a sense of support, inspiration, and connection during rather uncertain times.
“Very cool concept, and a nice break from speaker sessions. These are great every so often!”
“Best one yet, in my opinion”
“The cooking was a unique activity and really helped get the conversation going! Loved it and will come back”
🎁 EXCLUSIVE OFFER
Get 15% off eco-friendly products from Organic Lifestyle & Spent Goods with code ‘climatenorth’.
🙊 YOUR TURN
Help us Grow the Climate North Community!!
Know someone passionate about climate action? Share this newsletter with them or invite them to our next event! Every new connection helps spark important conversations and strengthens our collective impact.
We’ve got exciting gatherings ahead, such as the Women in Climate Leadership event on March 24th and Agriculture, Food, and Land Use in April—stay tuned for details.
Let’s keep building momentum together!
Written by Kathryn Weber.
The Climate North Team,
Chloe D'Agostini, Rebeka (Becky) Romanovsky, Fab Barrillot, Sarah Clayton, Julian Cheah