Book available open access! How to successfully challenge and transform public school-food programs to emphasize care, justice, and sustainability, with insights from eight countries across the Global North and South. Edited by Jennifer A. Gaddis and Sarah A. Roberts and published by MIT Press.  Through accessible and inspiring essays, Transforming School Food Politics around the...Read More

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s recent report Public Food Procurement for Sustainable Food Systems and Healthy Diets makes a strong case for how institutional food procurement, with a strong emphasis on school food programs, has great potential to transform food systems to be more sustainable.  On page 2, the report states “Over the past...Read More

With the immediacy of a pandemic it can be easy to shift our attention away from the on-going climate crisis, but now more than where we need to do what we can to reduce single-use items. The pandemic has made this challenging in many ways, including in our food system. From temporarily banning BYOB (bring...Read More

In the summer of 2017, I set out on a road trip from Monterrey, Mexico, to Toronto, Canada, filming a documentary series on North American local food initiatives. During this 4,800-kilometer (3,000-mile) journey, my co-creator and I had the privilege of meeting dozens of farmers, small-business owners, community organizers, and food advocates who shared an...Read More

Developments in national healthy and sustainable dietary guidelines: a state of play assessment Published by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Food Climate Research Network at the University of Oxford The report evaluates government-issued food-based guidelines around the globe, assessing whether they link to environmental sustainability as well as personal health. Read the report...Read More

At institutions throughout New England, dining staff are beginning to look to the sea as another source for local foods. Institutions from across health care, colleges & universities, and K-12 school systems are incorporating locally caught seafood into their meals for a variety of reasons and through a variety of procurement models. FINE set out...Read More

Reducing the distance between farm and institutional fork, requires some strategic thinking about your regional food web. Mapping your local ‘food web’ – the connections between producers, retailers and consumers – will highlight its importance for your local economy, landscape and community. Our new toolkit provides all the materials and guidance you will need for...Read More

Photo Above: Farmer Dona Madalena with a crop of passion fruit sold through the farm to school program in Tangara de Serra, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photo by Hannah Wittman. When Hannah Wittman first started traveling to Central Brazil more than a decade ago, she was astounded at the sheer tenacity of the small family farmers...Read More

Ontario is affected by many trade agreements that potentially restrict its ability to enact public procurement measures that discriminate in favour of local food. However, an examination of some of the limitations and exceptions of certain trade agreements that affect Ontario as well as a review of public procurement measures adopted by jurisdictions subject to similar trade agreement restrictions,...Read More