What is Food Literacy?

Dr. Jennifer Sumner teaches in the Adult Education and Community Development Program at OISE/University of Toronto. Her research interests include sustainable food systems, the social economy, the commons and critical pedagogy. She is the co-editor (with Mustafa Koç and Anthony Winson) of Critical Perspectives in Food Studies (Oxford, Third Edition 2021) and editor of Learning, Food and Sustainability: Sites of Resistance and Change (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). She is also the 2020-2021 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Food Studies Research from the Canadian Association for Food Studies.

Dr. Kerry Renwick is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia. Kerry has teaching experience in Australian secondary schools in the government, catholic and independent systems in the State of Victoria, Australia; in vocational education and training; and higher education. Kerry also has experience working in public health nutrition with Statewide responsibility for nutrition education in P-12 schools. She has been the principal investigator on two research projects focused on food literacy and has written about food literacy practices of educators. She has undertaken leadership in teacher professional associations including roles President, Treasurer and Editor of journals. Kerry is an associate editor for the International Journal of Home Economics and the Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, and holds the position of Vice President, Pacific Region, for the International Federation of Home Economics (IFHE) 2018 – 2020.

Kerry is also an Associate Member of the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm: http:// ubcfarm.ubc.ca/about/people/.

Dr. Pamela Koch is the Mary Swartz Rose Associate Professor of Nutrition and Education and the faculty director of the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy in the Program in Nutrition at Teachers College, Columbia University. Pam conducts research with schools and communities to give people power to demand healthy, just, sustainable food. She translates her research into curricula for school teachers, recommendations for policy makers, and resources for advocates. She has evaluated many school-based programs that improve school meals, create school gardens, conduct cooking sessions, and promote food justice. She teaches courses on sustainability of the food system, social and psychological determinants of food choice, and the process of food and nutrition education, all done through a sustainability and equity lens. She also teaches an online professional development course for educators, Teaching Food and Nutrition for All. Her work contributes to increased access to nutritious, delicious and sustainable food for all. She completed her BS and MS from Rutgers University and her EdD and RD from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dr. Joyce Slater is a Professor of Community Nutrition in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, at the University of Manitoba. She teaches food and nutrition literacy education, and public health nutrition. Dr. Slater uses mixed methods and participatory approaches to conduct research on food and nutrition security; the role of food literacy in well-being; and nutrition epidemiology. Her research has been funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Home Economics Foundation. Joyce is a Registered Dietitian who worked in various public health organizations for 18 years before obtaining her PhD and joining the University of Manitoba.