Self-operated vs. corporate contract: A study of food procurement at two universities in Manitoba

Authors

  • Michaela Bohunicky
  • Annette Aurélie Desmarais University of Manitoba
  • Meghan Entz University of Waterloo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v6i1.280

Keywords:

university food procurement, student activism, food system transformation

Abstract

Public institutions are increasingly being pressured to demonstrate how they are meeting their responsibilities and obligations to sustainability. Yet there is little academic research on food procurement at universities in Canada. This article examines issues related to procurement of local and sustainable food at two academic institutions in Manitoba: the University of Winnipeg (UW) and the University of Manitoba (UM). Following Brown et al.’s (2012) call for transformational change, we argue that the experiences at each university demonstrate that a food system transformation can best occur by moving away from corporate food service contracts. The ability to do so is dependent on a number of other factors including, but not limited to: political will of the administration, student activism and support from non-university sectors.

Author Biographies

Michaela Bohunicky

Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program

Annette Aurélie Desmarais, University of Manitoba

Canada Research Chair in Human Rights, Social Justice and Food Sovereignty, University of Manitoba

Meghan Entz, University of Waterloo

MA Graduate Student
two peope weighing pears in a fruit bin during a backyard harvest

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Published

2019-01-10

How to Cite

Bohunicky, M., Desmarais, A. A., & Entz, M. (2019). Self-operated vs. corporate contract: A study of food procurement at two universities in Manitoba. Canadian Food Studies La Revue Canadienne Des études Sur l’alimentation, 6(1), 43–74. https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v6i1.280

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2019): Special Issue: Food procurement

Section

Research Articles

License

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