🧩 Contributors
Sierra Wellington (she/her)
Designed the art for the cover page
I created the cover art to show how food carries culture, memory, and identity. Inspired by African, Caribbean, and Canadian traditions, it reflects the richness and vibrancy of these foodways and the stories they hold. In Canada’s multicultural landscape, food has the power to connect us, bringing people together across histories and communities.
Toyin Kayo-Ajayi
Content contributor
Founder and Executive Director of the Nigerian-Canadian, mentor, entrepreneur, farmer, music enthusiast, and a food sovereignty and agricultural activist.For over 15 years, he has been mentoring Black farmers to enter into the Canadian agriculture industry, and mentoring his community in other business ventures within Canada. After 10 years of serving his community on the grassroots level, Toyin founded the Kara-Kata Afrobeat Society of Canada Inc. In 2019, he spearheaded the Kara-Kata Africa Village Project, where he successfully experimented with growing African cultural vegetables and herbs in Canada. As part of this project, he supports research about various farming practices and innovative technology that benefit the Canadian and African agricultural industries by maximizing productivity in natural and organic growing processes.In 2022, he founded the Canadian Black Farmers Association, which advocates for and creates opportunities for African farmers in Canada.
Website: www.karakataafrobeatsociety.com & https://canadianblackfarmers.ca/
Email: karakataafrobeatsociety@gmail.com & canadianblackfarmers@gmail.com
Instagram: @kkafricavillage & @canadianblackfarmersassoc
Laurie Michael (she/her)
Content contributor
Laurie Michael is from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (Epekwitk), and works with the UPEI Health Research Network as a Registered Dietitian and Research Project Coordinator. She has been practicing as an RD since 2008, following completion of the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (2008) and a Bachelor of Nutritional Sciences at UPEI (2007). She also completed Toronto Metropolitan University’s Food Security Certificate (2012) and a Master of Public Health degree from Lakehead University (2019). Laurie has been privileged to work in a variety of primary care, community, and long-term care settings across Ontario, Nova Scotia, and PEI. She is a past president of the Primary Care Dietitians’ Association and has been involved in PEI’s Basic Income Working Group for several years. As a third-generation mixed-race Lebanese-Canadian, she enjoys exploring culture and connection through food and community.
Website: primarycaredietitianassociation.org
Zoe Barnett (she/her)
Content contributor
Zoe Barnett is a Registered Dietitian with over a decade of experience working in community nutrition. She obtained her Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Applied Human Nutrition from the University of Guelph and a Master of Public Health degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Toronto. She is also a Certified Diabetes Educator and practices dietetics in both English and French. She is the co-founder and former co-chair of the Canadian Black Registered Dietitians Association. In addition to working with clients from a variety of African and Caribbean countries, she has travelled to Ethiopia, Tanzania and Jamaica to experience the countries, people and cuisines 1st hand.
Bianca Cordiero (she/her)
Content contributor
Bianca is a Registered Dietitian based out of Toronto and was a 2023 Canfitpro Best New Presenter award recipient. She is a master’s trained Dietitian who acquired her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at the University of Guelph and is one of the co-founders of the Canadian Black Registered Dietitians Association. She has worked in a variety of different settings over the past four years of her career as a dietitian including community health, athletic care clinics, diabetes and weight management clinics, and virtual care clinics, servicing a diverse population of clients.
The Canadian Black Registered Dietitians Association (CBRDA) is an organization of self-identified Black Registered Dietitians and dietetic students working or studying in Canada. It was created in late 2020 with a mission to provide opportunities to Black RDs and dietetic students to improve their ability to better serve Black people in Canada and, to advocate for better representation within the field of dietetics through networking opportunities, training, education and experiences. To date, we have created a virtual cookbook, attended Black community health events in the GTA and hosted both virtual and in-person networking events for members. The vision of CBRDA is to improve Black representation within dietetics, support Black dietitians already in the profession, and better serve Black communities & Black people living in Canada.
Email: info.blackRD@gmail.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/groups/12528435
Facebook: search for “Canadian Black Registered Dietitians Association” (members-only group)
Savannah Black (she/her)
Content contributor
Savannah is a Registered Dietitian, research associate, and educator working in a variety of clinical and non-clinical areas. Her educational background is in nutrition, dietetics, and public health. Previous positions include working at Diabetes Canada as a healthcare navigation specialist for patients, providers, and industry professionals. From this experience, she continued to share diabetes knowledge in a dietitian role working at the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority Diabetes Centre in 2020. Savannah currently works as a Patient Research Liaison with the KITE team at Toronto Rehab Institute and teaches at Toronto Fanshawe@ILAC for gerontology, nutrition, and mentorship courses. Her business (Dietetics Mentorship Program) offers mentoring and 1:1 support for nutrition students and advocates to improve training for future dietitians.
Website: www.dieteticsmentorshipprogram.ca
Instagram: @dieteticsmentorshiprogram
Email: savannah@dieteticsmentorshipprogram.ca
Sheldomar Elliott (he/him)
Content contributor
Co-Chair, Toronto Youth Food Policy Council and an Urban Farmer
With years of experience in food justice work and a background in community support roles, Sheldomar brings an anti-oppressive and community-centred lens into all of the work he is involved in. Currently an urban farmer, he is passionate about food justice work that tackles issues around food insecurity and achieving food sovereignty for marginalized communities. As one of the TYFPC’s co-chairs, he’s worked to spotlight different youth voices across Toronto and amplify the work that youth play in the movement towards juster, food systems. He also co-organized Soul Food Project TO: Community Cookbook as a means of hearing from Black youth in Toronto about the recipes, food stories, and discussions about the importance that food has in comforting us during difficult times. He continues to learn from community members, elders, and others the significance of the work which informs his positionality. He hopes to support the continued movement of equitable, and sustainable food systems to exist in and beyond the City of Toronto.
Email: sheldomarelliott12344@gmail.com
Kishon Warmington
Content contributor
This is Kishon Warmington and he is a full-time first-generation Black farmer in Canada.
He owns Back to Roots Farm LTD., a small, family-run farm situated on 76 acres on Treaty One Territory in Manitoba. They are rooted in the belief in regenerative agriculture, a legacy that began with our great-grandparents in Jamaica. As a sustainable business, they strive to provide nutrient-rich, ethically sourced and appropriate food to health-conscious and culturally diversified communities, empowering and making them conscientious about their food choices. They are a diversified farm that markets directly to consumers.
Kishon is also a member and vice president of BIPOC Caucus. They are a supportive community working together to offer peer-to-peer support, and knowledge-sharing opportunities, develop deep connections, and dismantle barriers to entry and success in farming, as they work towards an equitable food system.
Email: info@backtorootsfarm.ca
Dr. Semone Myrie
Content contributor
Dr. Semone Myrie is a researcher and associate professor in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences
at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. Myrie’s interests are in the areas of nutrition and developmental origins of adult diseases and nutrition and Inherited metabolic diseases, more specifically: The role of early neonatal nutrition impact on the metabolic system during early development and into adulthood, Inherited metabolic diseases, nutrient absorption and bioavailability, particularly amino acids.
Phone: 204-474-7290
Email: semone.myrie@umanitoba.ca
Maude Perreault RD PhD (she/elle)
Content contributor
Maude Perreault is a white settler, currently working in Tiohtià:ke. She is a registered dietitian, an assistant professor at the Université de Montréal and a researcher at the Centre Jean-Jacques-Gauthier, CIUSSS Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. Her research interests are centered around professional practice in dietetics, specifically how to diversify the profession, disrupt racism, and better support dietetics students to envision a socially just practice.
Email: maude.perreault@umontreal.ca
Website: maudeperreaultnutrition.com
Dr. Natalie Riediger (she/her)
Content contributor
Dr. Natalie Riediger is a settler researcher and Associate Professor in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba. She is a CIHR Early Career Investigator Award recipient and has received research funding from CIHR, the Canadian Celiac Association, SSHRC, Universities Canada, Mitacs, and the Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research. Dr. Riediger completed her PhD research in partnership with Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and in the Department of Community Health Sciences also at the University of Manitoba, earning the Governor General’s Gold Medal in 2015. In 2021, she received the Terry G. Falconer Emerging Researcher Rh Award for Outstanding Contributions to scholarship and research in the Interdisciplinary category for her early career research in the area of food and health equity. Dr. Riediger is a mixed-methodologist who works closely with Indigenous communities and researchers in a variety of disciplines, including sociology, gender studies, law, nursing, economics, and psychology. She also has an interest in equity and diversity within the fields of nutrition and dietetics, and post-secondary education.
Email: natalie.riediger@umanitoba.ca
Eric Ng (he/him/his)
Content contributor
Eric Ng is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. He’s also a PhD Candidate in Policy Studies at the School of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation, Toronto Metropolitan University. He’s practiced as a dietitian in community health, diabetes education, mental health promotion, public health, dietetic education, and health equity. His teaching and research focus on how health professions are embedded within policy systems and how dietitians can address the social determinants of health and advance social justice in their everyday practice.
Email: erickh.ng@utoronto.ca
Jennifer Brady (she/her)
Content contributor
Jennifer Brady PhD, RD is a white settler and an Associate Professor in Women’s and Gender Studies and the School of Nutrition and Dietetics at Acadia University. Her research focuses on health profession(al)s’ roles in socially just practice and advocacy, racism in dietetics, and cultural food security.
Phone: 902-585-1351
Email: jennifer.brady@acadiau.ca
Alexandrea Harris-Saunders (she/her)
Content contributor
Alexandrea Harris-Saunders (she/her) is a certified personal trainer, Mindfulness and Meditation Instructor, and the founder of Wood and Water Holistic Fitness. Her mission is to empower women of colour to elevate their well-being by embracing a holistic view of fitness. She believes in the power of holistic health, merging exercise, balanced nutrition, and holistic practices such as mindfulness, meditation, journaling, and fostering a supportive community.
Alexandrea strives to create a space where health isn’t just about physical fitness but encompasses mental, emotional, and spiritual harmony. She brings a unique blend of fitness expertise and mindfulness practices to each client’s wellness journey. Her passion lies in guiding and supporting women through their transformative fitness journeys, emphasizing not just the sweat sessions but also the soul-nourishing aspects of self-care.
Wood & Water Holistic Fitness is where health and fitness meet mindfulness and personal growth. Inspired by her heritage, the name pays homage to the natural beauty and wisdom of Jamaica—often referred to as Xaymaca, meaning “the land of wood and water.”
Email: wwholisticfitness@gmail.com
Website: wood-and-water.com
Instagram: @woodandwater.hf
Karrianne Edwards (she/her)
Content contributor
Karrianne is a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario with over 14 years of experience in the Mental Health sector. She works with youth, adults, and seniors to support mental health counselling for individuals experiencing depression, trauma, grief, anxiety, and personality disorders. She is passionate about empowering equity-deserving communities. This is reflected in her Anti-Drug and Anti-Violence work within the Black and marginalized communities in Scarborough, Ontario and her advocacy work to bring awareness to Human Trafficking amongst the Black and marginalized communities. Karrianne also develops and facilitates therapeutic programs to foster connected families, stronger parental bonds, caregiver support workshops and youth mental health seminars. Her therapeutic focus is rooted in trauma recovery, addictions, and youth mental health. Karrianne provides a non-judgmental, supportive and a client-focused approach to therapy that enhances the self-care section of this Pressbook.
Nicole Austin
Content contributor
Nicole Austin is a food justice advocate, environmentalist and geographer who knows nutrition and food are central to individual and community well-being. Therefore, she champions restorative justice, progressive urban planning, environmental stewardship, and community-based initiatives upon which marginalized people can build capacity and become food sovereign on their own terms. Nicole firmly believes positive, sustainable food system transformation comes through collaboration, knowledge-sharing and intentional reconciliation. She is currently working as the Black-led Programs Coordinator at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Urban Farm, and is involved with Strategic Planning with Black Food Sovereignty Toronto. Nicole holds a B.A., Honours in Geography & Environmental Science from the University of Guelph and a B.A.Sc in Nutrition & Food from TMU.
Kafi Ealey
Content contributor
Kafi Ealey is an assistant professor in the School of Nutrition at Toronto Metropolitan University. After obtaining her BSc in biochemistry from McMaster University, Kafi went on to complete her MSc and PhD degrees in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Kafi has extensive research experience in adipose tissue biology and is passionate about understanding the impact of nutritional interventions in regulating fat expansion and chronic metabolic diseases. Her research is focused on identifying biological mechanisms underlying ethnic and racial disparities in the prevalence of metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes. Apart from her passion for scientific research and teaching, Kafi enjoys fitness, reading, a good cup of coffee, playing board games and travel.
Tameika Shaw
Content contributor
Tameika Shaw is Manager, Primary Healthcare Services with TAIBU Community Health Centre in Scarborough, Ontario. With the goal of improving health outcomes of clients and community, Tameika co-leads the Centre’s clinic initiatives including patient access to care, building organization capacity and fostering external partnerships. Leveraging her experience in health leadership and program planning, Tameika has been responsible for implementing initiatives such as community cancer screening, community wellness initiatives and social prescribing. Tameika has acted in capacity of clinical lead for the Centre’s pandemic response, which included covid-19 testing clinics, immunization, health education, digital health and patient safety initiatives.
With a career as a Registered Dietitian spanning over 14 years, Tameika understands the link between clinical and social and environmental factors on health outcomes. Tameika remains passionate in working in areas related to addressing contributors to health inequities, especially food insecurity.
Tameika obtained her Bachelor of Applied Science in Nutrition and Food at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and holds a graduate degree in Health Sciences from the University of Toronto. She is a member of the College of Dietitians of Ontario, Community Health Centre Dietitian Action Group, Canadian Black Registered Dietitians Association and is the Board Treasurer/Secretary for the Primary Care Dietitians Association, the national association representing primary care dietitians across Canada.