Dr Effie Papargyropoulou
- Position: Associate Professor in Sustainable Food Networks
- Areas of expertise: sustainable food systems; food poverty; food policy; food surplus and food waste management; food systems transformation, food justice
- Email: E.Papargyropoulou@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 8316
- Location: 11.105 School of Earth and Environment
- Website: Googlescholar | Researchgate | ORCID
Profile
I am an environmental social scientist interested in food security and sustainability. In my research I take a systems approach to explore ways we can achieve food security (i.e. access to enough, affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all, in a sustainable manner) while respecting planetary boundaries. My research is transdisciplinary by engaging with academic and non-academic stakeholders, and interdisciplinary by combining approaches from various fields.
Before joining the University of Leeds, I worked as a Lecturer in Sustainability in Malaysia at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for six years, and before that as environmental consultant in the UK.
Responsibilities
- Programme Lead MSc Sustainable Food Systems and Food Security
- Associate Director in Urban Food Systems at the Global Food and Environment Institute
Research interests
My research interests centre around the following topics/ areas:
- Transitions to more sustainable, healthier and more equitable food systems
- Community responses to household food insecurity
- Health inequalities due to food insecurity
- Food surplus redistribution and food poverty
- Food waste prevention along the food supply chain
- Urban food systems
Previous research projects
Scaling out place-based food initiatives: Understanding how to scale up (i.e. increase the size) or out (i.e. replicate in more places) place-based, community-led food initiatives to increase their positive impact to communities, environment, and local economies across the UK.
Food hubs for Food Security, Health, Inclusive Growth and Sustainability: Evaluating the benefits that Food Hubs bring to food systems and communities in terms of food security, sustainability, health, resilience and justice, and (ii) providing the necessary evidence base to make the case for policy support and funding.
Labour mobility in transition: a multi-actor study of the re-regulation of migrant work in 'low-skilled' sectors (LIMITS): Investigating the effects of the UK’s departure from the EU, the pandemic, energy costs and supply chain crises, on labour and skills shortages and the ways that food businesses are responding to these challenges.
FAmiSHEd: Interactions between Food wAste, Surplus and HungEr: Addressing the root causes of food poverty and systematic food waste generation
Research skills for nutrition-sensitive food systems: Reducing hunger, malnutrition and health inequalities in sub-Saharan Africa
KaLi - Kalimantan Lestari: Understanding the multiple drivers, impacts and interventions for peatfires in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Research impact
- Preventing food waste: food surplus redistribution in the UK (YouTube)
- Food hubs support communities against food poverty
- The multiple roles of Food Hubs: more than just fighting food poverty
- World Food Day: Scaling Up Place-Based Food Initiatives for Community Impact
- GFEI welcomes Effie Papargyropoulou and Sara González as joint Associate Directors for Urban Food Systems
- World Food Day 2023: Building resilient, secure and sustainable food systems
- How to Fix podcast: How do we cut the cost of healthy food?
- Food Hubs Impact evaluation toolkit
- Food Hubs Policy Brief
- Leeds Food Strategy
- Food Waste Action Week 2024.
- FAmiSHEd: Interactions between Food wAste, Surplus and HungEr
- Food hubs for Food Security, Health, Inclusive Growth and Sustainability
- Mapping the Production-Consumption Gap, Health Outcomes and Potential Circular Economy of the Leeds Food System
- Scaling up place-based food initiatives
Qualifications
- PhD, Sustainability Research, University of Leeds
- MSc, Environmental Engineering, University of Newcastle
- BSc, Geology, National University of Athens
Professional memberships
- Charted Member of the Charted Institution of Waste Management
Student education
- I am the Programme Leader of the MSc Sustainable Food Systems and Food Security
- I am the module leader for FOEV5100M Introduction to Sustainable Food Systems
Research groups and institutes
- Sustainability Research Institute
- Business Organisations for Sustainable Societies
- Environment and Development
- Sustainable Food Systems