The Food Equity Centre exists to challenge the power and politics that make food systems inequitable.
We conduct research and generate contextualized knowledge into the complex socio-economic factors that lead to certain people being unable to access affordable, nutritious food, or earn a decent living in the food system.
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We are a collaboration of researchers across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, bringing together knowledge and understanding from different contexts to make food systems fairer.
We work closely with activists, practitioners and policymakers to support regional, national and global decision-making with empirical evidence to make food systems equity-driven.
Recent work
events
A human rights-based approach (HRBA), based on CFS policy products, the right to food, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous…
15 October 2026
events
Hunger, malnutrition and unsustainable food-system practices persist because of policy gaps and unequal access to the knowledge and tools needed for food security and nutrition (FSN) decision-making. This side-event takes place at the 54th Plenary Session of the Committee on…
12 October 2026
publications
The Union Against Hunger (UAH), launched in 2025, advocates for the constitutional rights to access sufficient food and basic nutrition in South Africa using ‘evidence-based activism’. By combining explicit knowledge (quantitative statistics) with tacit knowledge (lived experiences) it frames chronic…
07 October 2026
Opinion
Millions of people are entitled to public services and benefits, from subsidised food rations to maternity payments and child nutrition services. Yet for many, especially the poor, these entitlements remain out of reach, often because they do not know what…
Jean-Pierre Tranchant & 4 others
01 October 2026
publications
Coastal communities face multiple challenges: climate-related shocks that undermine aquaculture productivity; arduous working conditions that can cause both short- and long-term health problems; and growing competition for land with other sectors such as industrial manufacturing, which threatens local ecosystems and…
Nguyen Thi Dien & 5 others
30 September 2026
Opinion
On 7 July 2025, our research project, DISHED, a UKRI-funded initiative to test the piloting of public restaurants in Nottingham and Dundee, was announced. The following day, the Daily Telegraph published a full-length article headlined “WWII-style restaurants to help feed…
Marsha Smith & 2 others
20 August 2026
Opinion
If you live in the United Kingdom in 2026, you do not have a right to adequate food. You do if you live in India, which joined the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR – which contains…
12 August 2026
news
IDS has become an official member of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, following widespread engagement by IDS researchers to support the aims of the Alliance since its launch at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2024.…
05 August 2026
Projects
projects
The DISHED project is testing a simple idea: can public restaurants promote healthier, more sustainable food systems and support local economies? Public restaurants can provide universal access to high-quality nutritious meals in social settings, with menus co-designed to reflect the…
projects
This project looks to strengthen knowledge systems for policy to address hunger and food insecurity and make them more equitable. By equity in knowledge, we mean ensuring fair access to creating, sharing and benefiting from knowledge, valuing diverse perspective and…
projects
This research project aims to understand the links between micro businesses and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the barriers to economic improvement for food system actors (smallholder farmers and micro business owners) living in extreme poverty in different…
projects
This project sits at the intersection between rewilding and agri-food system policy and practice. It aims to bridge divides between perspectives on nature recovery, farming livelihoods and food security in the context of net zero efforts in the UK agri-food…
People
Director of Research, Teaching and Impact
Research Fellow
Honorary Associate
Professorial Fellow
Research Fellow
Research Fellow
Senior Project Support Officer
People
