Maple Leaf Foods and the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security are announcing the four recipients of the 2023/24 Maple Leaf Board Scholarships in Food Insecurity.

Masters candidate Jayda Veinot from the University of New Brunswick, masters candidate Laura Jimenez from Dalhousie Universit, masters candidate Natalie Bakko from the University of Calgary and masters candidate Shannon Udy from McGill University will each receive a $15,000 scholarship to support their research.

• Veinot's research will examine the barriers and enablers to enhance the provision of care by dieticians to food-insecure patients in New Brunswick.
• Jimenez's research will explore the role of the COVID-19 pandemic income supplement (CERB) on the prevalence and severity of food insecurity nationally.
• Bakko's research will explore how Canadian municipalities are addressing the connection between housing and food insecurity.
• Udy's research will help design a participatory process to food security planning in the Kahnawà:ke, a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) community.

These scholarships honor the contribution of David Emerson, Wallace McCain, Purdy Crawford and Geoff Beattie as past chairs of the Maple Leaf Foods Board of Directors. Each year, the centre awards four scholarships to masters or doctoral students who are pursuing research that contributes to the body of knowledge on food insecurity in Canada. Candidates are selected based on their academic standing, contribution to filling research gaps, and quality of the submission, including feasibility and methodological rigor.

"We are delighted by the quality of Jayda, Laura, Natalie and Shannon's research and look forward to learning and sharing the knowledge that results from their work," said Sarah Stern, executive director of the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security. "These scholarships provide much-needed support to students as they broaden our understanding of food insecurity in Canada[.]"

The centre's goal is to work collaboratively across sectors to reduce food insecurity in Canada by 50% by 2030. This includes supporting research that contributes to understanding of barriers and interventions to achieve food security. For more information about the scholarship process, visit the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security.

Source: Maple Leaf Foods Inc.