Introductions

This introduction celebrates the 30-year legacy of the Centre for Studies in Food Security (CSFS) at Toronto Metropolitan University while situating its contributions within the broader evolution of food security scholarship, policy, and practice in Canada. It traces the Centre’s historical emergence in response to growing concerns about hunger, poverty, and food system inequities during the late twentieth century, highlighting the political, economic, and social contexts that shaped its creation. The chapter examines the Centre’s interdisciplinary approach to food security, grounded in the development of the Five A’s framework—availability, accessibility, adequacy, acceptability, and agency—which has informed research, teaching, and policy engagement for three decades. It also reviews the Centre’s contributions to advancing scholarship on food justice, food sovereignty, urban food systems, and the structural determinants of food insecurity through collaborative research, innovative educational programming, and sustained partnerships with community organizations, governments, and international collaborators. The chapter further highlights the Centre’s role in establishing enduring institutions, including Food Secure Canada and the Canadian Association for Food Studies, while supporting initiatives such as Indigenous and Black food sovereignty. Finally, it introduces the chapters in this volume as reflections of the Centre’s multidisciplinary legacy and its ongoing commitment to generating knowledge, fostering dialogue, and advancing more just, equitable, and sustainable food systems in Canada and beyond.