This thesis examines the enduring problem of food insecurity in Africa, with a particular focus on Ethiopia and Kenya. It considers food insecurity both in acute terms - the occurrence of famine and chronic terms - famine vulnerability. More specifically it provides a new interpre~tion of the causes of food insecurity in East Africa, with respect to some of the causal factors and viable solutions. It does so by locating the occurrence of famine, and countries vulnerability to it, in the context of the global food system. The global food system is, as yet, an under-examined factor in contemporary famine analysis, particularly in East Africa and this thesis aims to explore it more comprehensively than hitherto. This thesis also makes a substantive contribution to understanding the concept of Food Sovereignty in an African context. Food Sovereignty deserves to be a more significant part of contemporary narratives that at present dominate the political and social dilemmas about food insecurity. However there are serious obstacles such as political relationships, land tenure and the industrial system of agriculture that hinder the development of Food Sovereignty as a viable option. Natural disasters, demographic pressures and ill conceived economic policies are an ongoing part of the story but in essence food insecurity is ultimately political. This thesis concludes that Food Sovereignty should be explored as a political . solution to a political problem.

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.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:57:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Janaina_Vieira_dos_Santos.pdf: 619490 bytes, checksum: d2cca97c5c9449898b41fe38b6a38141 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-12 / A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Pelotas, Southern Brazil, with the objective of determining the prevalence of food insecurity in according to the other socioeconomic variables. Another aim of the study was to describe nutritional status of the family members who living in condition of food insecurity. The sample included 1,450 households of the urban area from Pelotas. In each household, six questions applied by interviewer were asked to the responsible by preparing meals and a score was constructed with the answers. If the household was classified as insecure, all members were weighed and measured in according to the standardized technical. Underweight, overweight and obesity were defined through different cut-offs points of body mass indices for children, adolescents and adults. The prevalence of food insecurity for the all families was of 11% (95%CI 9 to 13%). It was higher among families whose head of family was women (16%). Socioeconomic variables such as family income, economic level and schooling were inversely associated with food insecurity. The relationship between food insecurity and crowding was positive. For all family members living in food insecurity, overweight and obesity were more frequent than underweight. The differences were higher among adult than the others. Twenty percent of children living in food insecurity presented deficit in height. The authors conclude that may there is both quantitative and qualitative components of food insecurity. / Um estudo transversal de base populacional foi realizado em Pelotas, sul do Brasil, com o objetivo de determinar a prevalência de insegurança alimentar em relação a outras variáveis socioeconômicas. Descrever o estado nutricional dos membros das famílias que vivem em insegurança alimentar também foi objetivo do estudo. A amostra incluiu 1450 domicílios da área urbana de Pelotas. Em cada domicílio, seis questões foram aplicadas por uma entrevistadora ao responsável pelo preparo das refeições, e um escore foi construído a partir das respostas. Se o domicilio foi classificado como inseguro, todos os membros foram pesados e medidos de acordo com técnica padronizada. Desnutrição, sobrepeso e obesidade foram definidos através de diferentes pontos de corte para índice de massa corporal em crianças, adolescentes e adultos. A prevalência de insegurança alimentar para todas as famílias foi de 11% (IC95% 9-13), sendo maior nas famílias em que o chefe era uma mulher (16%). Variáveis socioeconômicas como renda familiar, nível econômico e escolaridade foram inversamente associadas com insegurança alimentar. A relação entre insegurança alimentar e aglomeração no domicílio foi positiva. Para todos os membros das famílias que vivem em insegurança, o excesso de peso e a obesidade foram mais frequentes do que a desnutrição. A diferença foi maior em adultos que em outros grupos. Vinte por cento das crianças que vivem em insegurança alimentar apresentaram déficit de estatura. Os autores concluem que esse estado de insegurança alimentar poderia estar relacionado não somente à diminuição da quantidade de alimentos como à perda da qualidade nutritiva.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature focused on the increased utilization of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by low-income workers attempting to become food secure. Poverty measurement will be discussed for its importance to accurately identify individuals and families who are still excluded of social services and programs due to a faulty measurement of poverty. Furthermore, this paper will identify how the limitations of the current minimum wage system in the United States contributes to food insecurity within the population of low-income workers. A concise history of the creation of the SNAP program and the current minimum wage system will be provided. Identifying the increased utilization of the SNAP program, how this intersects with the current minimum wage system and increased food insecurity, will help identify potential areas for advocacy within social work practice and potential areas for policy change

Contexte. L’insécurité alimentaire touche près de 11% des ménages au Québec. Les programmes alimentaires communautaires et l’aide alimentaire des banques alimentaires sont les principales interventions pour répondre à ce problème. Ces organismes communautaires en sécurité alimentaire (OCSA) opèrent avec des ressources humaines, financières et matérielles instables et souvent insuffisantes : pour ajuster l’offre à la demande, ils doivent souvent limiter le nombre de ménages desservis, la qualité de provisions ou de l’aide offerte. Considérant ces contraintes, est-ce qu’ils ont des opérations efficaces pour accomplir leur mission? Aucun modèle d’évaluation de l’efficacité organisationnelle (EO) n’existe. Une poignée d’études réalisées en milieu urbain ont analysé les opérations des OCSA, alors qu’une hétérogénéité de façons de faire existe. Objectif. Cette étude exploratoire propose un modèle permettant d'associer les capacités d’OCSA à des mesures d’EO, selon une approche multidimensionnelle. Elle vise aussi à comparer les opérations des OCSA dans quatre régions du Québec. Méthode. Une analyse secondaire des données a été réalisée sur les données d’une enquête téléphonique préliminaire à l’étude longitudinale PARCOURS : demander de l’aide alimentaire, et après?. Entre novembre 2017 et juin 2018, des représentants de 141 OCSA ont répondu à un questionnaire dressant un portrait de leurs opérations. L’échantillon incluait 64 organismes DON (i.e. don d’aliments) et 77 organismes classés DON+ (i.e. don avec des activités de développement des capacités en alimentation), situés en milieu urbain (n=60), semi-urbain (n=43) et rural (n=38). Trois dimensions de l’OE des OCSA, réparties en cinq mesures ont été analysées : le volume de service (ménages desservis annuellement), la qualité des paniers offerts (diversité alimentaire et valeur monétaire) et la qualité de l’aide (fréquence du don et conditions d’accès). Les associations ont été testées pour les capacités suivantes : la présence d’employés, les liens de collaboration avec des entreprises alimentaires, la présence d’usagers sur des comités, la publication en ligne de documents stratégiques, en plus du type de milieu et de programme. Résultats. Les organismes DON+ étaient plus développés que les organismes DON, sans nécessairement desservir plus de ménages. Pour l’ensemble des OCSA, lorsque le nombre de ménages desservis était plus faible, la qualité des paniers offerts était meilleure en ce qui concernait la diversité. La collaboration avec des entreprises alimentaires, la publication en ligne de documents stratégiques, la présence d’employés et le fait d’être situé en milieu rural étaient positivement associés à l’EO. Conclusion. Au-delà du nombre de ménages desservis, d’autres mesures de l’EO doivent être considérées pour évaluer le travail des OCSA. Notre modèle propose quelques pistes pour évaluer l’EO et identifier les meilleures pratiques. Davantage d’études sont nécessaires pour valider le modèle proposé. / Background. Food insecurity affects 11% of households in Québec. This problem is partially relieved by community food programs and food pantry assistance. These food security community organizations (FSCOs) operate with insufficient and unstable human, financial and material resources. To adjust supply with increasing demand, they must limit either: the number of households served, the quantity of the food offered or the quality of the assistance. In the face of these constraints, are FPs effectively accomplishing their mission? No model assessing FPs’ organizational effectiveness (OE) exists. Many ways of doing so exists, yet only a few studies in urban settings have documented FSCOs operations. Objective. This exploratory study aims to propose a model that associates capacities with measures of OE, defined by a multidimensional approach. This study also aims to compare operations of FSCOs located in four Quebec regions. Methods. We draw on data from a preliminary phone survey of the PATHWAYS STUDY: Asking for food aid, and then?. Between November 2017 and June 2018, respondents from 141 FSCOs were surveyed to provide in-depth description of their operations. The sample included 64 FD (food donation organizations) and 77 FD+ (FD organizations that included other food capacity-building activities), located in urban (n=60), semiurban (n=43) and rural (n=38) settings. Three dimensions of FSCOs’ OE, for a total of five measures, were analyzed: service volume (annual number of households), quality of hampers (diversity and monetary value) and quality of assistance (frequency of FD and access limitations). Associations with these capacities were tested: presence of employees, online publication of strategic documents, collaboration with private food suppliers, user implication in committees, and FP settings and program type. Results. FD+ organizations seemed overall more developed without necessarily providing food to more households. For all FSCOs, when the number of households requesting assistance was lower, the quality of the offered food was higher in variety. Collaborating with private food suppliers, publishing strategic documents online, presence of employees and being located in rural settings were capacities positively associated with OE. Discussion. Beyond the number of households served, other measures of OE need to be considered to assess FSCOs. Our model provides some guidance to assess their OE and identifies best practices. More research is needed to validate our model.