Nourishing roots: From food insecurity towards food sovereignty for Toronto’s Black diasporic community

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dc.contributor.authorHenry, Sharita Alyssa Anita
dc.contributor.supervisorPérez Piñán, Astrid
dc.date.accessioned2026-04-29T22:02:32Z
dc.date.available2026-04-29T22:02:32Z
dc.date.issued2026
dc.degree.departmentSchool of Public Administration
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts MA
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines the capacity-building needs required to advance food sovereignty as a strategy for reducing food insecurity within Toronto’s Black diaspora. While existing research documents disproportionately high rates of food insecurity among Black Canadians, less attention has been paid to the skills, resources, and structural supports needed to sustain community-led food systems. Using Toronto as a case study, this research employs a mixed-methods approach combining questionnaire data and semi-structured interviews with individuals engaged across the food system, including community leaders, farmers, food workers, policy actors, and advocates. Findings highlight land access, household income stability, and sustained funding for Black-serving organizations as central priorities, alongside the importance of culturally grounded education, youth engagement, and policy reform. The study situates these findings within Critical Race Theory, Community Development Theory, and food sovereignty scholarship, arguing that advancing food sovereignty requires coordinated structural, community, and institutional action beyond short-term emergency food access interventions.
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduate
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/23768
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Web
dc.subjectBlack food sovereignty
dc.subjectfood sovereignty
dc.subjectfood security
dc.subjecturban food security
dc.subjectcapacity building
dc.subjectfood systems
dc.subjectland access
dc.subjectfood justice
dc.subjectcommunity development
dc.subjecturban agriculture
dc.subjectfood system equity
dc.subjectBlack diaspora
dc.subjectcultural foodways
dc.subjectcommunity-led initiatives
dc.subjectcommunity capacity
dc.titleNourishing roots: From food insecurity towards food sovereignty for Toronto’s Black diasporic community
dc.typeThesis

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