Centennial College has a strong history of addressing community needs within the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. The Social Innovation Research Centre (SIRC) at Centennial Innovates - the applied research, innovation and entrepreneurship department at the college - actively partners with social enterprises, and works with communities to tackle societal challenges and create impactful interventions and solutions. Through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)'s College and Community Social Innovation Fund, SIRC has received $358,432 over three years for their project "Technology for Food Justice: A Web-Based and Mobile Application for Food Bank Users and Operators," to address food insecurity in Scarborough. This project aims at leveraging technology and community insights to support Scarborough food banks.
"Many socio-demographic groups are disproportionately affected by food insecurity, which includes a lack of access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, culturally appropriate food," says Dr. Purnima Tyagi, Director of the Wearable, Interactive and Mobile Technology Access Centre in Health (WIMTACH) and Social Innovation at Centennial College. "Coordinated efforts are required to address food insecurity by providing easy access to food banks and other resources," she continues. "A platform that can provide access to users in real-time, and in an organized, and accessible way is one of the solutions. We are collaborating with not-for-profit partners and end users to co-create a web-based and mobile-friendly application to consolidate dispersed information about food banks in Scarborough. This will address the needs of food bank users in Scarborough."
Linor David, the Principal Investigator (PI) for the agrees. "This project links the skills and perspectives of community development work with emerging technologies to create an app that will improve access to food security for Scarborough residents," she says. "The innovative collaboration between different departments at Centennial and with food banks across Scarborough will enable us to create a tool that is community driven, user friendly, and puts healthy food at the centre."
"From clients' experiences, I realized there was an urgent need for cultural food that isn't being met," explained project partner Philestena McLeod from AGATA Resource Centre. "Youth in crisis, struggling with their mental health were going days without eating. One youth told me they hadn't eaten in three days, and when they went to food banks, the lines were long and the food they received wasn't suitable like pasta, which they couldn't cook because they were unhoused," she adds. "In just three days, I got 21 calls, mostly about food We had to do something."
Diana Gatti from West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre expresses her excitement for this project. "We are excited to be part of this project because we see the impact of food insecurity on our community," Diana says. "Children need good nutrition to thrive and do well in school. Adults, families and seniors need to know where they can access food banks in their community. We hope that this project will address one of the most important questions - Where do I go if I need help feeding myself or my family? Anything that helps food bank users locate services that are near to them is extremely helpful."
The project team includes Centennial College's Dr. Purnima Tyagi, Dr. Amanda Wedge, PI Linor David, and Co-PIs Vijayalakshmi Tiruchengode Angamuthu and Meredith Davis, who will provide expert research, evaluation and strategic planning expertise throughout the project. This project is highly collaborative and supported by outstanding community partners, who provide ongoing expertise, insight and lived experience working with clients facing food insecurity. Community partners for this project include Philestena McLeod (AGATA Resource Centre Inc.), Diana Gatti and Lisa Jeffries (West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre), Suman Roy and Sukhmani Singh (Feed Scarborough: Scarborough Food Security Initiative), Utcha Sawyers and Nadira Yasmin (Boys and Girls Club: East Scarborough), Mahesh Nileshwar (SACHAYS), Qazi Shafayetul Islam and Nasima Akter (Bangladeshi-Canadian Community Services).
