Community - Academic Research Partnership: A Key Recipe for Food Security

Our experiences suggest that a community-academic research partnership is a key food security recipe to bring to the table. Our premise for this partnership is that the research knowledge gained helps the community build confidence to act on food security issues. This confidence for action arises because in the process of building a partnership we strengthen trusting relationships, increase the density of social networks, and shared community norms and sanctions (Kawachi, et. al., 1999; Coleman, 1988; Freudenberg, 1986). This builds collective efficacy (Morenoff et al., 2001; Sampson, et al., 1999; & Sampson, et al., 1977) whereby a community understands and engages in actions that demonstrate the shared belief that food insecurity is a drag on the well-being of both individuals and the community as a whole.