Maple Leaf Board Scholarships in Food Insecurity

Current and Past Recipients

The Centre provides four annual scholarships that recognize the contributions of David Emerson, Wallace McCain, Purdy Crawford, and W. Geoffrey Beattie as past Chairs of the Maple Leaf Foods’ Board of Directors. Since it was introduced in 2020, 17 Master and PhD students have received research scholarships to advance a better understanding of food insecurity in Canada. For more information about the scholarship application process, visit the scholarship’s information page. To see the results of some of the recipients’ research efforts, visit our resources page.

2024/25 Scholarship Recipients

• The Wallace McCain Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Destiny Otoadese, Masters of Arts – Community Engagement candidate at University of Alberta for Collective Community Gardening for Cultural Food Security and Integration of African Immigrants in Edmonton, Alberta
• The David Emerson Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Sharita Henry, Masters of Arts – Community Development candidate at University of Victoria for Nourishing Roots: Enhancing Community Food Security in Canada’s Urban Black Diaspora.
• The Purdy Crawford Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Yanick Brunette, Master of Science – Nutrition and Food Biosciences candidate at University of Ottawa for Perinatal Services and Nutrition Inequalities Among Pregnant Women: A Mixed-Methods Study.
• The W. Geoffrey Beattie Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Sharra Fullersmith, Master of Arts – Anthropology candidate at University of Lethbridge for Embodied Class Identity and Food Insecurity: A Case for Culture and Intersectionality.

2023/2024 Scholarship Recipients

• The Wallace McCain Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Jayda Veinot, MAHSR candidate at the University of New Brunswick: Examining the barriers and enablers to enhance the provision of care by dietitians to food-insecure patients in New Brunswick.
• The David Emerson Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Laura Jimenez, MSc candidate at Dalhousie University: Exploring the role of the COVID-19 pandemic income supplement (CERB) on the prevalence and severity of food insecurity nationally.
• The Purdy Crawford Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Natalie Bakko, MA candidate at the University of Calgary: Exploring how Canadian municipalities are addressing the connection between housing and food insecurity.
• The W. Geoffrey Beattie Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Shannon Udy, MScHN candidate at McGill University: Design a participatory process to food security planning in Kahnawà:ke, a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) community.

2022/2023 Scholarship Recipients

• The Wallace McCain Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Aida Bahramian, PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa: Determining the perinatal resources, tools and services needed to improve nutrition, food security and physical and mental health for French-speaking pregnant women living in minority contexts.
• The David Emerson Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Allison MacNeil, PhD candidate at McGill University: Understanding how experiences of food insecurity relate to changes in affect among adolescents, and exploring whether individual and contextual factors modify the relationship between food insecurity and adolescent mental health.
• The Purdy Crawford Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Atlanta-Marinna Grant, MSc candidate at the University of British Columbia: Exploring how Indigenous food knowledge supports Indigenous governance and food security.

2021/2022 Scholarship Recipients

• The Wallace McCain Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Samantha Stewart, PhD candidate at Ryerson University: Determining how public discourses on food security policy have changed over the last decade and what implications this has for the development of a Food Policy for Canada
• The David Emerson Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Suvadra Datta Gupta, PhD candidate at the University of Saskatchewan: Exploring potential funding models and policies for a national school food program in Canada, as well as parent and decision-maker perceptions of school food programs
• The Purdy Crawford Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Vanessa Cunningham, MA candidate at the University of Guelph: Better understand the lived experience of food insecurity among post-secondary students in Canada

2020/2021 Scholarship Recipients

• The Wallace McCain Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Michelle Aktary, MSc candidate at the University of Calgary: Examining the impact of the British Columbia Farmer’s Market Nutrition Coupon Program on diet quality and household food insecurity of low-income adults
• The David Emerson Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Lindsey Vold, PhD candidate at the University of Saskatchewan: Assessing the impact of community food programs in northern communities
• The Purdy Crawford Scholarship in Food Insecurity was awarded to Bochu Liu, PhD candidate at the University of Toronto: Examining time, transportation and geographic constraints on food access in urban environments