A Kwantlen Polytechnic University instructor has been named as a Canada Research Chair and awarded federal funding to research food security among marginalized communities in Surrey.<\/p>\n
Dr. Cayley Velazquez, a health science instructor at KPU, will receive $600,000 in federal funding over the next five years for research into food security for Surrey’s Black, African and Caribbean population.<\/p>\n
“The City of Surrey is home to B.C.’s largest self-identifying Black population – a group that is underserved and under-engaged in this region,” Velazquez said in a KPU press release. “Some of the pilot data that has been collected tells us that food security, along with access to culturally preferred food items, continues to be problematic for this population.”<\/p>\n
Velazquez’s research will examine the cultural, social, economic and environmental factors that drive food security, informing food programs and policies that will address the needs of this population.<\/p>\n
“There is a lot of work to be done to strengthen marginalized voices and collectively dismantle barriers being experienced by Black, African and Caribbean groups. We want to better understand the availability, accessibility and utilization of food for this community,” Velazquez said. “The ultimate goal is to use what we learn to inform equitable food programs and policies that meet the needs of all people.”<\/p>\n
The research will be conducted in partnership with Seeds of Change Surrey, an organization that works to establish resilient and ecologically sustainable food systems.<\/p>\n
Velazquez has previously researched other food- and health-related subjects, such as food security among immigrants and how access to food security impacts mental health.<\/p>\n
The Canadian Research Chair program provides support for research in engineering, natural sciences, health sciences, social sciences and humanities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dr. Cayley Velazquez to receive $600,000 in federal funding over the next five years for research<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":159151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-regional-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n