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70 # R I S I N G Y O U T H C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T V O L . 2 A shley Sunita Vijay Lewis is a local food and branding photographer in Prince Edward Island who wanted to showcase the ever-growing diversity of restaurants and cuisines in the province. She specifically created a project that would work to amplify immigrants and racialized communities who were also small business owners. "Within the last 10 years, there has been a larger influx of newcomers, and with it, a more vast selection of international cuisine," explains Ashley. "However, many of the newcomers that try to start local bakeries/restaurants/catering companies unfortunately fail, in part due to the large competition of Caucasian cuisine here on PEI. Many of these larger Caucasian restaurants have the money and means to hire professional photographers to advertise their food, but it has come to my attention that many of these small International-cuisine operations do not." Ashley offered her photography services to several local small international food businesses, so that they would be able to better advertise their products within the community. "I decided to offer my services for free to three local BIPOC-owned food businesses, and provided them each with a 3-hour photoshoot and styling session," Ashley shares. "I was so happy to be able to give back to the BIPOC community here on PEI. I was also pleased to receive such gracious feedback from the businesses I worked with, and even got to try some new food!" Showcasing Diverse Cuisines in Prince Edward Island Ashley Sunita Vijay Lewis I decided to offer my services for free to three local BIPOC-owned food businesses... A special thank you to ASDA Canada for sharing the #RisingYouth grant opportunity with Ashley to make this project possible.

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