CFICE’s Community Food Security Hub

Community Co-Lead
Cathleen Kneen*, Food Secure Canada

Academic Co-lead
Charles Levkoe, Canada Research Chair, Lakehead University

Text box with the following content: "Definition of FOOD SOVERIEGNTY: The right of people to have healthy and culturally appropriate food which is sustainably produced."The Community Food Security (CFS) hub examined the community-campus partnership models and best practices used to advance the food security and food sovereignty agenda of their lead community partner, Food Secure Canada.

Through different demonstration projects, they researched how to strengthen food security networks in Canada, and how to advance food security and food sovereignty in communities across the country.

Glenn Flett of LINC, holds a ripe watermelon cut in half at Emma's Acres.

Glenn Flett shows off fresh produce at Emma’s Acres. © L.I.N.C. Society

The CFS hub worked from the position that Community Food Security occurs when all residents within a community:

  • Obtain safe diets
  • Have access to culturally appropriate diets
  • Use environmentally sustainable food systems.

Cathleen Kneen, feminist and social activist with Food Secure Canada, was also the co-lead before she passed away in 2016.

Check out the CFS Hub’s Partners.
See the CFS Hub’s Bibliography.

Community Food Security News, Resources, and Research

Check out the CFS Hub’s news, resources, and research below.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Tips for Starting Your Own Community Garden

by Omar Elsharkawy, CFICE Admin RA As explored in the last blog post, gardening has many benefits. Gardening and growing your own food increases community food security, contributes to environmental sustainability, and will help you save money. In addition, community gardening contributes to a greater sense of community for the people involved.... More

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

‘Tis the season for gardening!

by Omar Elsharkawy, CFICE Admin RA Summer is almost upon us. Time to stop worrying about shovelling your driveway and start thinking about gardening. What better way to start gardening than by joining (or starting your own) community garden with your neighbors and fellow community members? For those who don’t know, community gardens are... More

Friday, April 8, 2016

Job Opportunity: Research Assistant in Canadian Food Systems Metrics – Apply by April 29, 2016

Wilfrid Laurier University’s Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS) is seeking a research assistant to gather data that assess the state of Canada’s food systems using existing economic, social, environmental and policy-based indicators. The project will support ongoing research of the CSFS, which uses food systems as a lens for... More

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

High school teaching modules: Teaching students about food

For those of you searching for some food studies teaching resources, look no further--the Canadian Association for Food Studies (CAFS) has you covered. A handful of CAFS members recently put their heads together to compile some teaching resources targeted to high school level students. These resources include: Curriculum Guidelines from the... More

Monday, March 21, 2016

Academic Publication: Forging Links Between Food Chain Labor Activists and Academics

In February 2016, the article "Forging Links Between Food Chain Labor Activists and Academics" was published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD). The article draws, indirectly, on some of lead author Charles Levkoe's experiences and work as the academic co-lead of CFICE's Community Food Security (CFS)... More

Friday, March 18, 2016

Working Paper: Toward Decolonizing Community Campus Partnerships

Since its establishment in 2012, social justice and environmental sustainability have been at the heart of Community Food Security (CFS) Hub work. The collective research we have been involved in with our community and academic partners across Canada has highlighted the need to better understand settler colonialism and its implications for food... More

Monday, March 14, 2016

We want to hear from YOU!

Have your say. Take our survey! Have you heard? CFICE is making some exciting new changes! As was proposed in our initial SSHRC application, CFICE is getting ready to transition to Phase II of our work. In order to transition smoothly, we want to hear from YOU regarding how you might want to be... More

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Webinar: Learning and Accountability – Evaluating CFS Hub Projects

In this webinar, presented on October 24, 2013, Ted Jackson, initial Principal Investigator of the CFICE project, discusses evaluation practice and options for community-campus joint projects, particularly with respect to evaluating the Community Food Security Hub's projects. This webinar was recorded and is provided online by Food Secure Canada.... More

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Webinar: Working Together for Food Justice in Guelph, Ontario

This webinar, delivered on 22 May 2014, tells the story of how the community of Guelph is changing the way it thinks about food security through community - academic collaboration. Presenters are Brendan Johnson, Kate Vsetula, and Erin Nelson. This webinar was part of a series offered through a collaboration between Food Secure Canada... More

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Presentation: Moving the local food agenda forward

On February 28th, 2013, representatives of the North Superior Workforce Planning Board (NSWPB) and the Food Security Research Network (FSRN) at Lakehead University shared the story of how the relationship between the organizations developed and evolved. Through a shared vision of a local food system, these organizations have been working together... More

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Policy Brief: Toward a national food policy for all

In this policy brief 'Want Amid Plenty' from February 4, 2013, Chris Yordy outlines some research and ideas in support of Canada developing a national food policy for all. "Here’s a conundrum: Producers in the Canadian agrifood system are supplying more food than ever before to international markets, but a greater number of our citizens... More

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Remembering Cathleen Kneen

On February 21st, 2016, our friend and colleague, Cathleen Kneen, passed away. Cathleen has been a huge part of the CFICE community since the beginning. As the former director of Food Secure Canada, she served as community co-lead in the Community Food Security (CFS) hub. Cathleen strongly believed in CFICE and in the potential power... More

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Patricia Ballamingie speaks to Ottawa Magazine about Food Security in Ontario

In her role as the chair of Just Food, a local not-for-profit organization that advocates for vibrant, just, and sustainable food and farming systems in the Ottawa region (and also a Community First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE) Community Food Security hub partner organization), Patricia Ballamingie spoke this week with Ottawa Magazine... More

Friday, February 5, 2016

How can CCE support Indigenous struggles for land through food?

by Lauren Kepkiewicz, Community Food Security RA While many of the Community Food Security (CFS) Hub projects within the Community First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE) project have sought to address structural impacts of patriarchy, capitalism, and racialization within the food system, the collective research generated from our project... More

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Partners in Action: Sharing the Table Manitoba

By Carly Foubert, CFICE Volunteer Sharing the Table Manitoba is a CFICE community partner whose relationship with CFICE developed within the Community Food Security hub. It is a network of individuals ranging from food producers such as fishermen and women and farmers, to food consumers, with the aim of creating a space for discussion and... More

Monday, January 18, 2016

CFICE’s Charles Levkoe Appears on The Agenda

On January 12, 2015 CFICE's Community Food Security Co-Lead Charles Levkoe appeared on The Agenda with Steve Paikin and University of Toronto's Michael Ekers to discuss the use of unpaid labour by Canadian organic farmers. The question to be answered: How does the use of unpaid labour square with food movements focused on justice and... More

Friday, January 15, 2016

Sowing ‘The Seed’ of Change

by Lily Haines, CFICE KMb RA Food Security means all people, at all times, have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food. But for eight per cent of Canadians, food security does not exist. That’s 1.1 million households, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent 2011-2012 report. So how can communities do better? The statistics... More

Monday, January 11, 2016

Presentation: Models of CCE in the Waterloo Region Food System

This presentation was provided as a joint Food Secure Canada and CFICE webinar on June 16, 2013. The webinar provided attendees with the preliminary results of a CFICE Community Food Security Hub partnership project between the University of Waterloo and Waterloo Public Health. The presentation shares the stories of community members, students,... More

Monday, January 11, 2016

Community Food Security Newsletter 2015

Learn more about the work of CFICE’s Community Food Security (CFS) Hub over the past year in their 2015 newsletter. This newsletter features stories about two CFS project partners, Sharing the Table Manitoba, and Paying For Nutrition, as well as a glance at the hub's future work.... More

Monday, January 11, 2016

Community Food Security Newsletter 2014

Learn more about the work of CFICE's Community Food Security Hub and the partners with whom they work by browsing their 2014 newsletter! Jam packed with content about each of its partner projects, this newsletter will quickly bring you up-to-speed on all things relating to CFS hub research, work, and... More

Friday, December 18, 2015

L.I.N.C. wins $77,000 in grants

by Amy Richardson, CFICE Communications RA The community of Mission, B.C. came together to vote for L.I.N.C. to win much deserved grants. In early December, within days of each other, Sherry Edmunds-Flett, Executive Director of L.I.N.C. Society, was notified that her cause had won $77,000 in grant money. L.I.N.C. received two sums of money:... More

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Being a Boundary Spanner

by Omar Elsharkawy, CFICE Admin RA Boundary spanners are integral to the success of community-campus engagement (CCE). At CFICE (Community First: Impacts of Community Engagement), we are lucky to have several boundary spanners on our team. We see boundary spanners as people with the ability to bring together academics, community members, and... More

Monday, December 7, 2015

A Primer on Indigenous Food, Land and Heritage

Produced by Dawn Morrison of the BC Food Systems Network Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (a CFICE partner), this primer on Indigenous Food, Land and Heritage provides a brief background on the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty, and provides information on Indigenous Land Ethic and Indigenous bio-cultural heritage in the... More

Friday, December 4, 2015

Decolonizing food systems

Abra Brynne, Director of Engagement and Policy at BC Food Systems Network and a CFICE Community Food Security hub partner, describes her experiences learning about how to decolonize food systems in this moving blog post, published December 3, 2015 on Rabble.ca. An excerpt from Abra Brynne’s article can be found below, along with a... More

Monday, November 23, 2015

Upcoming Event: BUILDING Community-Campus Food Justice Workshop

On December 4th, between 10am and 1pm, CFICE members Peter Andrée (PI), Chris Yordy (volunteer researcher), and Omar Elsharkawy (Administrative RA) will join activist-academics from University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Meal Exchange’s Campus Food Systems Project and others at University of Ottawa for a workshop on community-campus food... More

Monday, November 16, 2015

Upcoming Event: Food Security Day at University of Ottawa

For those interested in food politics looking for an introduction to the concepts of food sovereignty, food security, and land justice, the Student Federation at the University of Ottawa's Sustainable Development Centre is hosting an upcoming workshop to teach you! Facilitated by Omar Elsharkawy, this workshop is part of several that make up... More

Monday, November 9, 2015

Upcoming Event: Next Steps for Food Policy in Canada

The outcome of the upcoming federal election has created new directions and opportunities to work towards policy change for more just, sustainable food systems. On November 15, Food Secure Canada is hosting a Collective Think with food system leaders from across Canada to explore next steps for food policy and advocacy. Presentations on the post... More

Monday, November 2, 2015

Strong #EatThinkVote campaign points to need for Canadian Food Policy Council

CFICE PI, Peter Andrée, calls for the development of a Canadian Food Policy Council in this op-ed, published by the Hill Times, Monday Nov. 2, 2015. See the full policy briefing released by the Hill Times here. An excerpt from Peter Andrée's article can be found below, along with a link to the full article. "In the... More

Monday, October 19, 2015

Putting National Food Debates back on the Menu

When the ‘Community First’ project launched four years ago at Carleton University with a debate on ‘Food in the North,’ the idea of creating a national food policy in Canada was a murmur, a distant vision. What started as a SSHRC-funded partnership project blossomed into a national debate on “country food” and food sovereignty,... More

Thursday, October 8, 2015

New Report Shows Food Insecurity is a Growing Concern for Peterborough

A new report detailing the food and housing insecurity issues being faced by the community of Peterborough was recently released by Carleton and Trent University academics in association with the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at Wilfrid Laurier University. Entitled Food Access, Housing Security and Community Connections: A Case Study of... More

Thursday, September 24, 2015

CFICE’s Peter Andree to speak at Dalhousie Conference on GMOs and Poverty

On Friday October 2nd, CFICE's Principal Investigator Peter Andree will be participating in a discussion titled "Genome Canada’s Genomics, Public Policy and Society (GPS)". This conversation will explore the emerging debate regarding the role of GM technology in Canada's work to assist developing countries with achieving food security... More

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Free Webinar on Food Waste

Free Webinar  Food Waste Reduction Practices and Policies - North America and EU                             Free Webinar About one third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste. That amounts to more than one billion tonnes of waste around the world... More

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Community Food Security Hub Newsletter

This Community Food Security Hub newsletter contains information about their partners and research projects, including food costs across Canada and Sustainable-Local Food Systems in Manitoba. To read the newsletter, click... More

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Food Secure Canada- Food Webinars and Teleconferences April 2015

The following list of national food events - webinars and teleconferences - are offered by a host of different organizations from across Canada. Exploring Participatory Research Hosted by: ACORN and The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, TIME TO BE DETERMINED What is Participatory Plant Breeding? And why does it... More

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Food Webinars to come in February

Below is a list of upcoming Food webinars and teleconferences in February. Organic Crop Production Hosted by: ACORN TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3 FROM 8:00 PM (AST) ACORN Series: Introduction to the Canadian Organic Standards. With Rochelle Eisen B.Sc.(agr), P.Ag - Resilient Solutions Consulting. Understanding the Canadian Organic Standards (COS) is a... More

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