By Alice McFarlane

USask research tackles food insecurity in the community

Dec 19, 2023 | 4:29 PM

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have cooked up a new way to fight local food insecurity in Saskatchewan: a dry soup mix product to be distributed by the Regina Food Bank and the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre.

The Farm2Kitchen soup mix product is a collaboration between the USask College of Agriculture and Bioresources, the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc. (Food Centre), and the Regina Food Bank and the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre.

To address issues of food insecurity in Saskatchewan, USask researcher Dr. Michael Nickerson partnered with the Food Centre to develop an affordable, easy to make and nourishing soup, using crops grown in Saskatchewan.

“It’s really good. They did a great job at the Food Centre. It has a really nice texture on your pallet. It has a soft yet crunchy taste to it,” Nickerson said. “We actually have a vegan chicken flavour soup mix that you could or choose not to add to the soup.”

The science behind the soup mix is based on a research project led by Nickerson. The goal of the project was to produce therapeutic food products made primarily from pulses and cereals that could respond to moderate to acute malnutrition within high-risk communities.

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In the original project, researchers investigated the protein quality of pulse and cereal crops and how to process them into food aid products for use in Ethiopia. The research team investigated blending ratios to maximize the nutritional benefits of the protein.

One product developed was a fortified cereal-based product with all the micronutrients that children would need to maintain growth nutrition. The other product was a lipid-based supplement that could be prescribed by a community health clinic to address nutritional needs of children six months and older.

Nickerson has now expanded the notable health benefits from the research project into Saskatchewan by partnering with the Food Centre and local foods banks, bringing this nutritious soup to families in need.

“We always promote we need to feed the world and we have so much agriculture commodities, but people are suffering here, and we can’t forget that,” he said. “This project is about caring for communities; it’s about developing this product. We have so much food and so many families in need locally as well as around the world.”

Packed with protein and nutrients from lentils and oats, each soup packet makes four to five cups of soup when mixed with water. A total of 15,000 packages have been produced at the Food Centre and will be shared in food hampers in Regina and Saskatoon.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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