Research

Research Interests

  • National School Food Programs, International
  • Canadian School Food Programs (SFPs)
  • Public Policy
  • Public Procurement
  • Farm to School (F2S) Programs
  • Economic Development
  • Sustainable Food Systems
  • Child Health

Informed by my time working for the Ontario Student Nutrition Program, my research examines school-based food and local food ‘farm-to-school’ programs. Specifically, my work explores the possibility of these programs to expand the scope and sustainability of local/regional food production.

Nationally, as a community-engaged researcher, I examine school food models across Canada.

In 2019, I was honoured to participate in the Government of Canada’s first roundtable on developing a National School Food Program.

Research Projects

  • Canadian School Food Program Survey

    In collaboration with Dr. Mary McKenna, I surveyed Canadian government ministries and departments that fund school food programs to create the first national baseline of programmatic coverage in 2018/19. Click for more information.

    In 2019, I was honoured to participate in the Government of Canada’s first roundtable on developing a National School Food Program to discuss preliminarily results from my 2018/19 Canadian School Food Program Survey.

     

    In November 2020, results from the Canadian School Food Survey were presented in a webinar co-hosted by Nutrition Connections and the Arrell Food Institute.

  • Linking Farm and School in New Regional Agri-Food Value Chains

    Three year project funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs evaluating the economic impact of farm to school programs in Ontario. Click to read more.

    I had the pleasure to discuss my research with the Honourable Patty Hadju, former Federal Minister of Employment, Workforce and Labour at a University of Guelph roundtable on February 14, 2019.

    To learn more about my research, click the image about to read my article in the Conversation Canada.

  • A Survey of Canadian Organizations and Agencies Providing Food to School Students During COVID-19

    Since schools started to close in March 2020 in response to COVID-19, many organizations are continuing to provide food for school students (and in some cases, their families) across the country.

    To help capture information about these important efforts, Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer, Dr. Mary McKenna and I launched a short survey. The information collected will provide a clearer picture of strategies for food provision and valuable information to inform future planning.   

    For more information, please read our guest blog post on the national Coalition for Healthy School Food’s website.