Publications

Housing and food are both fundamental human rights and key social determinants of health. Yet despite their interrelations, housing and food are often treated separately by government bodies, policymakers and social movements. While both ‘food insecurity’ and ‘housing insecurity’ have been the targets of much research and activism in recent decades, we find less attention to their intersections, and to the potential for research and activism that centres these intersections in struggles to address their linked underlying causes. This scoping review aims to bring these two domains into closer conversation by further developing the notion of the ‘housing-food insecurity nexus’. We conceptualise this nexus as the co-occurrence of housing and food insecurity, often resulting from unaffordable housing costs (and the relative flexibility of food expenditure) in the context of neoliberal housing policy and market conditions where living costs outstrip incomes for many. The review highlights empirical and explanatory intersections and explores potentials for more coordinated action that can help to ensure people are able to realise both their right to housing, and to good food. It is based on literature from Canada and pays particular attention to urban areas but bears relevance elsewhere. We first give empirical evidence for the housing-food insecurity nexus, and how this might differentially affect particular marginalised groups. Second, we suggest explanatory frameworks that broaden perspectives onto the nexus and particularly draw attention to underlying drivers of increasing food and housing unaffordability. Finally, we review proposed solutions, from short- to long-term. We conclude that necessary to the implementation of these solutions is a re-politicisation of the right to food and housing, uniting around the shared harms of many: renters, food producers, and movements for economic justice. We thus also examine the potential for cross-sector and multi-level partnerships that can leverage power in the pursuit of these twinned, essential goals.

The COVID-19 crisis demonstrates forcefully that human health, the well-being of animals, and planetary health must not be viewed in isolation—and that they all depend to a large extent on the ways in which we produce, process, trade, and consume food. In this perspective essay, we argue for the centrality of food and agriculture to the epoch of the Anthropocene and why profound changes are needed more than ever. We close with some reflections on how the disruptions associated with the current pandemic also offer the opportunity for the necessary ecological, economic, and social transformation of our agri-food systems—toward healthy humans, animals, and a healthy and biodiverse planet.

This report provides insight into the impacts of COVID-19 on food systems in the Bow Valley. It highlights inequities, gaps, and recommendations for achieving food sovereignty for all. In writing this report we draw on our experiences and learnings with a focus on BVFA regional coordination work from March 2020 to June 2021. During this time it became increasingly clear that we need regional food systems that do not rely on global supply chains, charity, and volunteers. We believe that food sovereignty is essential for creating these kinds of vibrant food systems that can withstand unexpected shocks. To move forward, we believe that building strong relationships is essential at multiple scales and between different sectors and actors. We emphasize the need for municipalities to work with grassroots groups, non-profit organizations, and community members to develop a regional emergency coordination plan that understands how people’s access to and connection with food determines their well-being during the best and worst of times. At the same time, we underline the vital, ongoing, and yet under resourced role that community-based organizations play in coordinating around food in the Bow Valley. We believe this work of building trusting relationships between different groups, organizations, communities, and individuals is essential in creating community resilience. We ask that community decision-makers include our recommendations in their daily work and future planning so we can realize everyone’s right to food.