We perform research into the causes of Food Insecurity as well as how much it costs to eat a nutritious diet. FoodARC Vision:
With community, university and government partners, we are embarking on research and action that supports the development of healthy, vibrant Nova Scotia communities that are self-reliant and socially just. We are working toward a future where everyone has access to enough affordable, healthy, and culturally appropriate food, that is produced in socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable ways. We are “research inspiring change.”
Our History:
Over a decade ago, the persistence and injustice of food insecurity in Nova Scotia catalyzed a partnership among the Nova Scotia Nutrition Council, the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre, and Nova Scotia Family Resource Centres and Projects, resulting in the Nova Scotia Participatory Food Costing Projects. In 2006, the collaboration expanded to launch the Nova Scotia Food Security Network and additional participatory research projects and activities. One year later, Dr. Patty Williams became a Tier II Canada Research Chair in food security and policy change and founded the Participatory Action Research and Training Centre on Food Security (PARTC-FS) at Mount Saint Vincent. The work continued to advance in 2010 with the beginning of a 5-year Community-University Research Alliance (CURA): Activating Change Together for Community Food Security. FoodARC (Food Action Research Centre) emerged in 2012 to replace the Participatory Action Research and Training Centre on Food Security as the latest step in the evolution of many deep, cross-sectoral relationships and significant research activities working to better understand and build food security in Nova Scotia and beyond. FoodARC wants to continue to work with local, regional, national and international partners to strengthen relationships, share resources and knowledge, and work together across disciplines as a network of activists and researchers to create social justice, healthy, and vibrant communities.
