Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-208). Also available via the World Wide Web.

In this study, I employ a combination of social semiotics and critical discourse analysis to examine the marketing media from corporate social responsibility campaigns focused on food bank philanthropy and awareness-raising for the issue of hunger. I use media from a sample of six of the largest and most visible corporate food bank philanthropy campaigns to represent a broad range of their differences. Each campaign is analyzed for how the problem of hunger and the solution as food banks are represented. Hunger is represented by these corporations as a problem of a lack of food that can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere, for which families and/or local communities bear responsibility. This typification of the problem of hunger comes packaged conceptually with a characterization of the solution to that problem in food banks represented as a food-focused, charity-based, volunteer-run response that relies on corporate sponsorships and corporate social responsibility programs to harnesses the marketability of hunger to increase donations. These representations are evidence form the basis on an analysis of how the problem of hunger is currently thought about and acted upon in Canada. Claims about hunger exist at a juncture between the resources available and the kinds of responses to hunger that are likely to arise. This study demonstrates what corporate claims about hunger mean in relation to the ongoing development of food banking. This study is also an analysis of a particular case of corporate food bank philanthropy as an example campaign to highlight how the corporate construction of hunger is deployed to obscure, marginalize, and foreclose on the possibility of the emergence of alternative understandings of hunger and approaches beyond food banking based on a charity model. The dominant typification of the problem of hunger by corporations further institutionalizes an inadequate food banking paradigm that cannot address the social underpinnings that lead to the expression of hunger. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2014-06-01 00:17:52.246

Thesis (M.N.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2004. / Typescript. Bibliography: leaves 107-118.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on October 9, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 21, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: Food banks are the foundation of the emergency food network, and while their chief mission is to mitigate hunger, the rise in obesity and other diet-related diseases among clientele has incited the need for better nutritional control with regards to procurement of inventory at food banks. The purpose of this research was to determine if procured inventory at United Food Bank in Mesa, Arizona could meet minimum MyPlate recommendations for a typical food bank client and what implications the results could have for future policy. Inventory data was obtained from United Food Bank for fiscal year 2013-2014 and analyzed utilizing the MyPlate Analysis Program to determine contributions of each food category to MyPlate recommendations. Inventory was separated by MyPlate food category and analyzed to determine contribution towards a meal built around MyPlate recommendations. Results showed that the inventory could meet the minimum requirements for protein and grains for a family of four for at least three days, the amount of time an emergency food box is designed to last. On the contrary, the inventory did not meet minimum vegetable, fruit or dairy requirements. These results indicate that typical food bank inventory does not meet USDA MyPlate recommendations and that having nutritional policy in place could potentially drive donations and purchases to enhance the nutritional quality of future food bank inventory. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2015

Food insecurity is a prevalent and persistent issue that affects communities across Canada. Food banks are currently one of the most common responses to food insecurity in the country. Since they emerged in the 1980s, food banks have proliferated across Canada and the number of people accessing them has risen steeply. While food banks have faced criticisms in their capacity to address food insecurity, there have been shifts in how they operate over recent years. There are a growing number of examples of food banks that changed the types of food that they distribute and the programs and services that they offer on location. However, there is little evidence to explore the impact of shifting food bank operations. In a series of three studies, this dissertation explored operational characteristics and strategies of food banks, experiences with accessing food banks, and associations between food bank access and food insecurity, as well as related dietary and health outcomes. The first study employed a qualitative methodology to examine staff and volunteer perspectives on the strategies that food banks have adopted and adapted to address the needs of the people that they serve and the factors that enable or impede change. The findings illustrate current food banking practices and revealed examples of how food bank operations have changed over recent years to endeavor to better address the needs of the people who access their services. Moreover, the results illuminate food bank efforts to raise awareness and advocate for policy change to better address issues of poverty and food insecurity. The second study used qualitative data collected at two time points, six months apart, to explore experiences of food insecurity and food bank access among people who access them. While there was variation in the social and emotional experiences of accessing food banks, a common theme of long-term and regular access due to constrained financial resources arose in the data. The third study was a quantitative investigation of the associations between the operational characteristics of food banks and changes in food insecurity, diet, and health over a six month period. Results indicated that accessing a food bank that employed a choice model of food distribution was significantly associated with increased fruit and vegetable consumption over the study period. Accessing a food bank integrated within a community resource centre was significantly associated with reporting less severe food insecurity at six months compared to baseline. The findings presented in this dissertation offer novel evidence to elucidate the shifting operations of food banks and the associations between food banking operational characteristics and food insecurity over time. Moreover, these findings may inform decisions to change or adapt food banking operations to better address the needs of the people and communities served. Food banks, though they do not address the root causes of food insecurity, are established community resources, and thus, serve as strategic access points for not only short-term food assistance but also for connecting people with services and advocating for food security and poverty reduction.

Although studies on food insecurity among low-income families and children are prevalent, it's rare to come upon a study specifically measuring food insecurities among college students. There are limited accesses for students to government assistance such as food stamps because of their "dependency" on their parents. Although, on paper, the student may still be a dependent, there are a myriad of instances where they are unable to receive monetary help from their parents for different circumstances. My current study is examining an understudied population of college students who use the Knights Helping Knights pantry. The Knights Helping Knights pantry is located on the UCF campus and provides food to students in need. In addition, this study measures awareness of the pantry among a sample of college students. There are two sources of data for this study. The first consists of results from pen and paper surveys given to the students who attend the Knights Helping Knights food pantry located on campus. The second consists of results from an online survey of college students measuring their awareness of the pantry and hunger issues in general. The goal of the research is to examine the barriers to asking for help and the experience of stigma among the students who use the pantry in addition to examining the awareness of other students of the pantry's existence and the need for such a resource.

Yes / We report qualitative findings from a study in a multi-ethnic, multi-faith city with high levels of deprivation. Primary research over 2 years consisted of three focus groups and 18 semi-structured interviews with food insecurity service providers followed by focus groups with 16 White British and Pakistani women in or at risk of food insecurity. We consider food insecurity using Habermas’s distinction between the system and lifeworld. We examine system definitions of the nature of need, approved food choices, the reification of selected skills associated with household management and the imposition of a construct of virtue. While lifeworld truths about food insecurity include understandings of structural causes and recognition that the potential of social solidarity to respond to them exist, they are not engaged with by the system. The gap between system rationalities and the experiential nature of lay knowledge generates individual and collective disempowerment and a corrosive sense of shame. / NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care Yorkshire and Humber (NIHR CLAHRC YH) (Grant Number IS-CLA-0113-10020).