The Nourishing Communities research partnership has been evolving since 2007, over the course of several projects. Members of the partnership have a history of collaborating on successful grant applications and conducting research and knowledge mobilization together. A summary of past and ongoing shared grants is provided below.
| Funding Source | Project Title |
| SSHRC Insight Grant | The Social Economy of Food: Informal, under-recognized contributions to community prosperity and resilience |
| OMAFRA New Directions Grant | Food Hub Feasibility Studies: Building food system resilience in community value chains |
| OMAFRA New Directions Grant | Project SOIL: Shared Opportunities on Institutional Land |
| SSHRC Partnership Development Grant | Building and reinforcing resilient regional food networks in Canada and beyond |
| SSHRC Public Outreach Grant | Building Regional Food Hubs in Ontario: Fostering linked-up thinking and practice through sustainable food systems |
| OMAFRA New Directions Grant | Developing Regional Food Hubs: Applying knowledge to increase local food purchasing through local food linkages and value chains |
| SSHRC Connection Grant | Sustainable Regional Food Systems Workshop: Theory, Practice and Policy |
| SSHRC Conference and Workshop | Imagining Sustainable Food Systems: Theory and Practice |
Both the previous work and the project’s current activities are funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), with additional university support.
To date, more than eighty participants, including community practitioners, academics, the private sector and government officials from Canada, the UK and the United Nations, have conducted research focused on the viability of community food projects. Through collaborative efforts we have targeted support to community food projects, and produced reports, a community toolkit, community workshops, a themed journal issue (Local Environment), and several other articles and book chapters, as well as more than three dozen conference and community presentations. While the network initially focused on Ontario, we have increasingly collaborated with a wide range of scholars and practitioners nationally and internationally.
Our Partnership Development Grant work was recognized by SSHRC as one of three finalists for the 2013 Impact Awards in the Partnership category. Our partnership work led to the founding of Wilfrid Laurier’s Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, which provides an institutional home for the Nourishing Communities research project and related work. The Centre is guided by National and International Advisory Committees.
