Leslie Campbell

Leslie is a food justice advocate with a background in tropical agroecology and community food security. As a student, Leslie spent a year in Northern Thailand managing an organic farm and developing an agricultural training curriculum, which inspired him to pursue a Master’s degree in Geography focusing on the social and ecological aspects of food systems. He then returned overseas, spending two years teaching agriculture in Indonesia and two years working in agricultural research and training in Ethiopia, after which Leslie returned to Canada, excited to engage with food issues more locally.

Leslie now works for FoodShare Toronto, where he supports community-led food access initiatives, research, and advocacy. This work seeks to broaden conversations about food insecurity to include discussions of the many systems of oppression that hold it in place – systems like colonialism, capitalism, systemic racism, and patriarchy. Leslie also currently sits on the board of directors of MakeWay (formerly Tides Canada), is a member of the Toronto Food Policy Council, and works as a food systems research consultant. He believes strongly in income-based solutions to food insecurity as implemented alongside universally accessible public services, and in the need for those most impacted by these issues to lead the solution-finding process.