On November 20, 2025, FLOW hosted the webinar, “Telling Regional Stories: Place-Based Food System Change,” which focused on the question of how city-regions define, navigate, and share their journeys toward transformation.
Watch the video recording of the webinar here or on YouTube, and for more information about the webinar themes and speakers, see below.
What does it mean to work toward food system transformation at the regional scale? In this webinar, we dive into the unique opportunities and challenges of building resilient, equitable, and sustainable food systems at this scale. Learn from our regional FLOW teams based in Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver Island (Canada), and Melbourne (Australia), who share insights from their local contexts. Together, they explore questions such as: How do we define a “regional food system”? Why does this scale matter for creating meaningful change? What benefits and challenges come with working regionally? And what stories can regions tell about their journeys toward transformation? This conversation highlights diverse perspectives and experiences, offering inspiration and practical insights for anyone committed to advancing food system change.
The session also features guest discussant Anne Palmer (Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins University), who reflects on regional food policy strategies from a U.S. perspective.
About the Speakers
Dr. Rachel Carey is a Senior Lecturer in Food Systems in the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences (SAFES) at the University of Melbourne, where her teaching and research focuses on resilient and sustainable food systems, food policy and food security. One of Rachel’s key research interests is the resilience and sustainability of city food systems in the face of growing challenges from climate change, pandemic, population growth, urban sprawl and from declining supplies of natural resources, such as land and water. As part of the FLOW Partnership, Rachel leads the Foodprint Melbourne research project, which is investigating approaches to strengthen the resilience of Melbourne’s food system to shocks and stresses and the role of Melbourne’s foodbowl in increasing the resilience of the city’s food supply.
Dr. Maureen Murphy is a Research Fellow in the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences at the University of Melbourne, with a focus on the resilience of food systems. Maureen is part of the Foodprint Melbourne project, which is investigating the resilience of Victoria’s food system to climate and other shocks and stresses. Her PhD research, ‘Local food environments for a healthy equitable city: evidence to inform urban planning policy and governance in Melbourne, Australia’ contributed to the research program of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Liveable Communities. Maureen’s work in the FLOW Partnership aims to foster regional level collaboration between key stakeholders and local governments in Melbourne’s city region to build resilient food systems.
Anna-Liisa Aunio’s research over the past several years focuses on understanding the sociological drivers of environmental issues, particularly in relation to climate change and food systems. She is currently the Principal Investigator for Food Research and Action Montreal (FRAM) at Dawson College, which focuses on analyzing the food system for Montreal’s 33 boroughs, providing research support to community food organizations, and assessing residents’ needs and challenges in accessing food security programmes. With the FLOW Partnership, Anna-Liisa is working towards a food system that is healthy, diverse, local, affordable, and sustainable for all, through the mobilising and amplifying work of food system stakeholders.
Anne Marie Aubert has over 12 years of experience in federal politics and citizen mobilization, making her a unifying leader with strong skills in organizational development and public policy. Convinced that Montreal can become a leader in the food transition, she has dedicated herself to this mission in her coordination role at Montréal – Métropole en santé (Montreal – Healthy Metropolis) and the Système Alimentaire Montréalais (Montreal Food Policy) Council since August 2018. Through the FLOW Partnership, Anne Marie offers mobilization partners support and guidance in carrying out their initiatives. By acting at the municipal level, Anne Marie is delighted to see the impact of the MMS team’s collective work on the daily lives of her fellow citizens and her own.
Kent Mullinix is Director of Institute for Sustainable Food Systems (ISFS) at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and is engaged in research and development to advance ecologically sound agriculture and robust regional food systems. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor in The Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia and serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development. Through the FLOW Partnership, the ISFS is modeling the food self-reliance and economic development potential for a Vancouver Island bioregion food system and is bringing together key food system actors from across the Vancouver Island bioregion to collaboratively prioritize actions and inform regional food system resilience planning and development.
Moe Garahan has been working on food and farming issues since 1995. Focused on community development and community economic development approaches, she has facilitated the establishment of many ongoing community and regional food initiatives, (including Just Food) while supporting provincial and coast-to-coast-to-coast food systems change (presently as Board Director at Sustain and Partnership Coordinator of Food Communities Network and Common Ground Network). Since 2004, she has been the Executive Director of Just Food, working with teams to integrate food access and food localism within the mixed urban and rural settings of the Algonquin/Ottawa region. Through the FLOW Partnership, Moe is focusing on Community Farms, Community Gardening, Agroecological on-farm practices, Ottawa Food Strategy, and digital storytelling.
Patricia Ballamingie is a Professor at Carleton University, cross-appointed in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and the Institute of Political Economy. Her research interests have included: environmental conflict and democracy; community-campus engagement; and, for over a decade, food policy and food systems governance. As an engaged scholar and action researcher, Dr. Ballamingie served as a founding Board Member of Just Food in Ottawa, Ontario, putting into practice her commitment to building just and sustainable food systems. She is actively involved in several SSHRC-funded research projects on regional food systems transformation, participatory food systems governance, safe and affordable housing, and Indigenous food sovereignty. She sits on the Advisory Board of Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer’s UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies.
Anne Palmer is an Associate Scientist in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society and the Director of Practice at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. She contributes to the Food Policy Networks project, which seeks to improve the capacity of food policy councils and similar groups to advance food system policies at the state, local, regional and tribal level. Her research interests include the role of food retail in public health, food system governance and equity, and community food systems. Prior to working at CLF, she spent 13 years designing, developing and executing public health communication campaigns in Asia.