Biography

In 2024, I was honoured to see my work recognized as instrumental in persuading the Government of Canada to commit $1 billion to launch the National School Food Program—a historic step toward ensuring every child has access to healthy, nutritious meals at school.

Through my consultancy, Ruetz Consulting, I provided the Government of Canada with baseline data that supported the signing of the National School Food Program Agreements and advised on the program’s research and monitoring framework.

I serve as the Canadian delegate to the Global Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition, Co-Chair of the Canadian Association for Food Studies' School Food Research Working Group, a member of Farm to Cafeteria Canada’s Advisory Council, and an advisor to the [Canadian] Coalition for Healthy School Food.

As a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Saskatchewan, I co-led Canada’s largest analysis of school food program case studies and implementation models, ranging from direct sourcing to regional scale food hub operations, with Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer. Our book — School Food Programs in Canada: Models for Success — will be available in February 2026.

Since 2015, I have worked nationally and internationally to advance school food and farm-to-school programming, linking farms and schools to combat the chronic disease epidemic and rebuild resilient, community-centered, and regenerative food systems. This passion was ignited when I witnessed the transformative impact of a farm-to-school program in Ontario's Student Nutrition Program. That experience informed my PhD research as an inaugural Arrell Food Scholar at the University of Guelph, where I explored how school-supported agriculture can help rebuild the “missing middle” of local food supply chains.

My insights and research have been featured in major outlets, including CBC, CTV News, Global News, The Globe and Mail, and Canada’s National Observer. I am also a frequent op-ed contributor to Hill Times, Policy Options, The Conversation Canada, and the Canadian Science Policy Centre.

I am dedicated to making school food programs powerful catalysts for health, education, and economic vitality. By linking farms and schools, we can combat the chronic disease epidemic and rebuild resilient, community-centered and regenerative food systems.

I welcome opportunities to provide strategic advice, planning, and research on food policy and food systems and am available for speaking engagements and media interviews.

Please reach out to me at amberley.ruetz@usask.ca or direct message me on LinkedIn.

Looking forward to connecting!

– Amberley