In this episode of GrowAbility, Joe sits down with Mystery Furtado, a registered nurse and founder of Type Diabeat-It, a BIPOC-led diabetes organization. Mystery shares her personal journey with diabetes, the impact of food insecurity on marginalized communities, and her efforts to promote culturally relevant healthcare in Canada. She discusses her work in urban agriculture, growing African diaspora crops, and her entrepreneurial venture, Granny P’s Sea Moss Gel, which supports her non-profit initiatives. Mystery emphasizes the importance of community in her mission to improve food security, health education, and diabetes prevention.

Mystery Furtado is a passionate advocate for food security and holistic health. As an internationally trained nurse, she has dedicated her career to addressing the gaps in healthcare for marginalized communities, particularly in diabetes prevention. Mystery’s work extends beyond healthcare into urban agriculture, where she spearheaded London, Ontario’s first Black-led community garden. This initiative provides access to culturally relevant crops and promotes food literacy through hands-on programs. A single mother of two, Mystery is deeply committed to empowering her community and creating sustainable solutions for food insecurity. Her efforts have earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious "20’s in Her 20’s" award.

Type Diabeat-it

• diabeat-it.ca
• Instagram.com/typediabeatit
• Facebook.com/typediabeatit

Granny P's

• grannyp.ca
• Instagram.com/grannyp.ca
• Facebook.com/grannyp.ca

GrowAbility

• StoryHub: growabilitypod.com
• Socials & Links: site.bio/growabilitypod
• Fresh & Nutritious Newsletter: growabilitypod.com/why-subscribe/

GrowAbility is hosted by Joe Gansevles and Holly Pugsley and produced by Joe Gansevles and Adam Caplan.

Special thanks to this week's guest Mystery Furtado.

Lighting and Camera Design by Kevin Labonte, with production support from Oliver Gansevles.

GrowAbility's production was made much easier with the help of Jesse Chen, Teri Fujioka, Zach Grossman, Zachary Meads, Leo Shin and Debora Camargo from Fanshawe College's Broadcasting Television and Film Production program. Thanks to Janice Robinson from Fanshawe for arranging for these students invaluable participation.

Holly Pugsley of Just Keep Growing provided the plants and made sure they looked great.

Audience and Marketing Strategy by Japs Kaur Miglani with support from Doruntina Uka and Tess Alcock.

Our theme music is Wandering William by Adrian Walter and can be found on SoundStripe.

Thanks as well to Hubert Orlowski for providing technical and audio engineering advice to help our...