The Feeding City lab began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns as a network of researchers, educators, and students dedicated to tracking and sharing information about how food growers, buyers, workers, and providers were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to sharing knowledge and supporting the work of community food security advocates.
Currently, the Feeding City lab researches, pilots, and implements projects in support of socially just, culturally relevant, and ecologically sustainable food infrastructures in Toronto and around the world. Helping to re/build food sovereignty through research and action on resilient, climate-smart food and farming futures, it works closely with community organizations, municipalities, social enterprises, small businesses, academics, and cross-sectoral partners on qualitative research projects and knowledge dissemination activities.
The Feeding City lab is directed by Dr. Jayeeta Sharma, Associate Professor at the Culinaria Research Centre of the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC). Its projects are supported by the Culinaria Research Centre and the Office of the Vice-Principal Research & Innovation at UTSC, as well the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
