Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, TRW 3E43-3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada. lmcintyr@ucalgary.ca
Canadian agricultural policy supports higher milk prices. Consequently, poor families lack sufficient funds to purchase adequate quantities of milk. Low-income lone mothers in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia suggested their preferred strategies for improved access to milk. We then built inter-sectoral support for a policy intervention to address their recommendations. Our research-to-action process led to a policy dialogue focusing on an electronic smart card that would permit the delivery of lower-priced milk to poor households. While all agreed that milk insecurity was an important issue, the project ultimately failed because of the entrenched positions of influential stakeholder groups.