Update on FSC Research Project: Improving Equitable Access to Sustainable Food

On January 27, 2022, we provided an update on our refresher research project that revisits FSC’s 2019 report “Sustainable Consumption for All” in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and how it might have impacted different communities. This work is part of our wider research focus on equitable access to healthy, sustainable food.

This blog provides a further update of that work. Since January, Dr. Monika Korzun, the lead researcher for this project, has researched and written a literature review to shed light  on the state of the research in this area. She was assisted by a third party methodologist, Dr. Ellen Goddard, Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Science at the University of Alberta. Dr. Korzun has also completed the first round of in-depth qualitative interviews with experts in the field, from a variety of lived and professional experiences. We aimed to speak to a diverse group of people  and interviewed mostly BIPOC participants from across Canada. Dr. Korzun asked participants questions about the pandemic, sustainability, food security/food access, and policies to address the former. We received nuanced answers to many of our questions, and we look forward to sharing the results.

On May 12, 2022, Dr. Korzun presented preliminary findings at the 2022 Canadian Association of Food Studies Conference.

What’s coming next?

We are currently concluding the second round of interviews, and will begin  the analysis. We will then hold an additional meeting with our Community Advisory Committee to polish the final results and publish the paper.

Please stay tuned as we share the report’s launch date on our website, the FSC newsletter, and a press release. We also plan to hold a webinar to discuss  the results, the significance for the food movement in Canada, and policy recommendations.

This research project led by Food Secure Canada has received funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Contributions Program for Non-profit Consumer and Voluntary Organizations. The views expressed are not necessarily those of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada or of the Government of Canada.