Eighth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Food literacy has emerged as an important construct for its potential to mitigate negative effects of the contemporary, complex food system including poor health, nutritionism, unhealthy food relationships, and ecological degradation. Food literacy has been conceptualized through definitions and frameworks, however gaps exist in the translation of evidence-informed food literacy knowledge. This session will bring together several initiatives from Canada which are building on theoretical ideas of food literacy to implement applied, integrated knowledge translation strategies. Four cases will be discussed. “Food Literacy for Life” is a Locally Driven Collaborative Project which has identified food literacy attributes, and is validating a food literacy assessment tool for vulnerable/at-risk youth and young parents. The “FANLit Food and Nutrition Literacy” project is building an evidence-based knowledge repository of resources for educators of children and youth. The “Eat Well Campaign: Food Skills” was a national initiative that promoted meal planning to parents, and has leveraged the resources and expertise of cross-sector partners to diffuse a fully integrated health education campaign. In 2012, “Food Literacy: A (Hands-On) and Appetizing Course on Thinking Critically About Food” was offered to adolescents in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, and has since been a catalyst for various methods to engage secondary school youth within the realm of food literacy. These initiatives are exemplified by their extensive engagement with stakeholders and end-users to produce best practice approaches to applied food literacy education and promotion. Discussion will compare food literacy knowledge translation strategies and invite experiences and feedback from session participants.