Strengthening Food Sovereignty in Waterloo Region

Towards a Sustainable Food System for All

Strengthening food sovereignty in Waterloo Region is a one-year partnership engage grant led by Dr. Andrew Spring (PI), Dr. Steffanie Scott (Co-Applicant) and Dr. Laine Young (Co-Applicant). The project establishes a research partnership between the LCSFS and the Food System Roundtable of Waterloo Region (FSRWR) to strengthen food sovereignty and promote dialogue on sustainable food systems action in Waterloo Region.

The project aims to:

1. Strengthen food sovereignty in the region by facilitating dialogue and collaborations between organizations and individuals and by mobilizing FSRWR's vision within the community.
2. Enhance community capacity to advance the development of food sovereignty policies and programming.
3. Develop a strategic plan for future collaborations to strengthen food system partnerships in the region.

Supported by a team of researchers and graduate students working alongside FSRWR volunteers and an advisory circle, this project will work to expand the Roundtable's network through knowledge sharing, asset mapping, and case study development to further food sovereignty dialogue in the region. The project emphasizes relationship-building across diverse food actors, ensuring diverse voices are included in food system discussions, and reimagining food not as a commodity but as a foundation for ecological stewardship, identity, foodways, and community well-being and celebration.

Funding Acknowledgement

This project is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Call for Participants

We’re looking for local food champions to participate in community engagement workshops. Who we need:

• People passionate about food systems (farming, food justice, cultural food traditions, sustainability, community organizing, and more!).
• Based in or connected to the Waterloo Region.
• Excited to collaborate for change.

Commitment: participation in one or more of the three scheduled workshops being planned for 2026. More details to come.

• If you are interested, please reach out to emiltenburg@wlu.ca.
• If you have questions or concerns related to this workshop or the procedures, contact the researcher, Andrew Spring, at aspring@wlu.ca.

Past Events and Outreach

Hunger No More

On Sept. 14, 2025 the LCSFS was at Tiny Home Takeouts Annual "Hunger No More" Event to connect with community members and start conversations about what sustainable food systems and what food sovereignty means.

Skill Share and Food Systems Mapping

The LCSFS supported The Food System Roundtable's Skill Share Event on Oct. 19, 2025. During breaks and over lunch we asked participants to reflect on question including:

• Where does your food come from?
• What are important sources of food?
• What are the challenges you experience?
• How does the current food system work or not work for you?
• What should be included in food systems converdations?

These ideas and conversations helped inform upcoming research workshops and was a great opportunity to connect with community members passionate about food systems change.

Community Engagement Workshop 1

On Saturday Nov. 22, 2025, the LCSFS and the FSRWR hosted our first research workshop brought together local food champions to connect, reflect on hopes for the food systems, and explore examples of food sovereignty in the local context.

Results from this workshop will be shared in case studies and public facing reports after the project concludes.