Developing a Toolkit for Community-Engaged Research—Feeding City Lab

How can humanities scholars develop research for social innovation and change? What tools and strategies can scholars use to initiate meaningful and impactful community-engaged research?

Join members of the Feeding City Lab for a lively discussion on building a community-engaged research project. This 2-hour online workshop will share some tools and practices from the Feeding City Lab, which documents grassroots pathways of provisioning during the pandemic in order to foster more inclusive, equitable, and resilient food systems.

The workshop will open with conversations on developing university-community collaborations with Feeding City Lab Director Jo Sharma and Jennifer Forde, Founder of the Courtyard and Scarborough Farmers’ Markets in Toronto. The second part of the workshop will focus on using autoethnography as a tool for reflexive research. Workshop participants will gain insight into how the Feeding City Lab used autoethnography to open up new research pathways, and they will have the chance to develop strategies for their own autoethnography practice.

Organized and facilitated by Jaclyn Rohel, CEHR Early Career Fellow at the JHI.

Jointly sponsored by the JHI and the Culinaria Research Centre.

Speaker Bios

Jennifer Forde, Founder, Courtyard and Scarborough Farmers’ Markets, Red Onion Events, and Vision Quest Event Management. Jennifer is the Founder of the Courtyard and Scarborough Farmers’ Markets.  Jennifer brings nutrient-dense, affordable, culturally appropriate, locally grown produce and unique products to diverse communities with a concentration in her beloved Scarborough. She aims to combat inequality in the access to affordable, healthy, culturally appropriate foods in Greater Toronto Area food deserts. Jennifer also manages the flagship Nathan Phillips Square, and North York, Farmers’ Markets and is the former Manager of the Weston Farmers’ Market.

Jo Sharma, Associate Professor, Culinaria Research Centre, and Director of UTSC SF3 Cluster and the Feeding City Lab, University of Toronto. Jo Sharma leads the Feeding City research lab and is also Director of the Sustainable Food and Farming Futures (SF3) Cluster in the Clusters of Scholarly Prominence Program at UTSC. Her research examines food, mobilities, labour, family and gender in imperial and postcolonial spaces, including the city of Toronto.

Jaclyn Rohel, CEHR Early Career Fellow, JHI, University of Toronto. Jaclyn is a 2021-22 Fellow at the Jackman Humanities Institute, where she pursues community-engaged research in Food Studies. Her interdisciplinary work focuses on food provisioning, the marketplace, and the ethics of hospitality. She is a Research Associate with the Feeding City Lab and the new UTSC Sustainable Food and Farming Futures (SF3) Cluster.