Many communities in Ontario do not have adequate access to local, healthful food. In particular, northern Ontario faces challenges associated with production and distribution systems, which limits availability and impacts food sovereignty. It is, therefore, important to understand local food access limitations in northern Ontario and how access to local food can be improved.

 

This research project will pursue this issue from the perspective of individual farmers and seeks to evaluate the availability of local food (i.e. food produced and intended for consumption in local markets) in Northern Ontario. This research will identify systems currently in place to produce and distribute local food, and the success of network systems in other communities, such as the North East Community Network.

 

Through an understanding of existing community food networks and linkages, this research will assess the possibility of these communities creating stronger partnerships in order to improve local food distribution systems. This research will include case studies of new farmers including the Anabaptist farm community, young farmers and new immigrants and their recent migration to northern Ontario, specifically looking at their impact on local food and their role within the local food network. 

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A copy of the research proposal can be found here.