Blog post | Q&A with Conseil SAM: On Using Data to Better Understand Food Insecurity

Written by the DSH Team*

Une version française de ce billet se trouve ici.

The Data for Society Hub (DSH) team spoke with program officer Erika Salem about the collaboration between the DSH and the Conseil du Système alimentaire montréalais (Conseil SAM), Québec’s first food policy council.

In a nutshell, what is the Conseil SAM?

Erika Salem (ES): Conseil SAM brings together a range of stakeholders interested in improving the Montréal food system, from food production to waste management, food processing, and distribution. It’s a multi-sectoral coalition of people working together to develop and implement a shared vision of a food system that allows all Montréalers to access to a healthy, diversified, local, affordable, and sustainable food supply. We seek to foster cross-sectoral collaboration to address five key issues, one of which is food insecurity.

Conseil SAM consists of 24 members who meet on a fairly regular basis, but we’re also working to mobilize a network of over 200 partners who are eager to work collaboratively to ensure a more sustainable food system in Montréal. These include researchers, public institutions, businesses, and organizations that are aligned with the Conseil SAM and that share the vision laid out in our regional action plan.