Community University Research Alliances (CURAs) that Address Community Food Insecurity and Social Justice across Canada Presented By: Patty Williams (MSVU) & Doris Gillis (St. FX) on behalf of the CURA team Canadian Association of Food Studies, Montreal May 28-30, 2010
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CAFS Cura Overview (Williams and Gillis) May 2010 (Final)
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Community University Research Alliances (CURAs) that Address Community Food Insecurity and Social Justice across Canada
Presented By: Patty Williams (MSVU) & Doris Gillis (St. FX) on behalf of the CURA team
Canadian Association of Food Studies, Montreal May 28-30, 2010
For Thought… “ In a world marred by obesity alongside malnutrition, climate change alongside fuel and energy crises, water stress alongside more mouths to feed, and social inequalities alongside unprecedented accumulation of wealth, the old rubric of food policy needs re-evaluation. Food policy must be inextricably linked with public health, the environment and social justice to be effective.”
Lang et al. (2009)
Activating Policy Change for Community Food Security???“I do a lot of work on the agriculture side with the US in
Washington. Two weeks ago I was in Philadelphia at a national conference of state legislators where the issue of food sovereignty (not just food security) came up in spades. Even the US now admits that if there was a pandemic and borders had to close they couldn’t feed themselves. In fact, in Canada, people on the trade side tell me that if we had to close our borders, you wouldn’t believe the shock you would get when you’d look at our grocery store shelves. Within two weeks we would have extreme shortages of food supply - yet we call ourselves the ‘’Breadbasket of the World’!”
[key informant interview, August 2009]
Central Aim
To engage a broad range of stakeholders, including those most vulnerable to food insecurity and organizations that serve them, in a strategic research alliance to better understand the determinants of community food security (CFS), and build capacity for improved food security policy
CURA: Activating Policy Change for Community Food SecurityCore partners
NS Food Security Network MSVU’s Participatory Action Research & Training Centre
on Food Security
St. Francis Xavier University NS Nutrition Council NS Dept. of Health Promotion & Protection
42 Co-Applicants & Collaborators
53 Partner Organizations across Canada
Different Ways of KnowingThe CURA will use a ‘ways of knowing” typology
that values three types of knowledge:
Instrumental
Interactive
Critical
The CURA will actively involve citizens in the generation and integration of these types of knowledge through Participatory Action Research and Participatory Leadership processes.
(www.wordle.net)
Why Nova Scotia?Income-related household food insecurity by province
Health Canada, 2007 - CCHS Cycle 2.2, 2004 (Nutrition)
Why Nova Scotia? In Canada, imports of food as a % of net supply
are rising (1964-2002) Fruits (from 67% - 97%) Vegetables (from 20% - 48%) Red Meats (from 4.2% - 24%)
Nova Scotia has a strong agricultural history, with communities that were built around fishing, farming & additional resource-based economies….
It is now estimated that only ~8.4% of the diet in Nova Scotia was produced on Nova Scotian farms
e.g. Growth of Farmer’s Markets across Nova Scotia, with an estimated 15 markets in 2004 to 32 currently
Early work of NSNC to Participatory Food Security Projects Nova Scotia Food Security Network (NSFSN) formed in 2005 10 yr history of working together Food policy work evolving
The Use of Deliberative Dialogue Processes in the Nova Scotia Community University Research Alliance: Activating Policy Change for Community Food Security
Participatory Leadership Model
Evaluation &
Participatory Methods
Challenges…OpportunitiesDiscursive tension in how FS is understood,
measured, & approached: ‘food access’ vs. ‘food supply’; food
security vs. food sovereignty
Disconnect between contemporary food production & distribution systems in a global economy
Increasing vulnerability of local food consumption to uncertain global forces
Competing approaches to food policy that prevent development of food security for all citizens
OpportunitiesDraw upon other ways of knowing
Use of new learning & communication tools Collect & consider different ways in policy work