Food insecurity is a global issue giving rise to health inequities affecting populations at all life stages. Postsecondary student food insecurity exists, yet is an understudied phenomenon. To provide insight into the perspectives and experiences of food insecurity in the postsecondary population, university students (n=15) who accessed a campus food bank were interviewed utilizing person-centered interviewing. The social determinants of health (SDH) and structural violence theory provided conceptual guidance for the qualitative study. Students were found to lead complex lives, shouldering many responsibilities. They valued their health; however, they lacked the necessary supports to maintain adequate nutritional intake. They employed multiple strategies to mitigate their food insecurity issues, while concurrently making sacrifices and experiencing suffering. Three economic pathways leading students to food bank use included shortfall, cumulative and catastrophic pathways. This research offers increased understanding of food insecurity in this vulnerable population, exposing inequities which must be addressed. Keywords: / xi, 304 leaves ; 29 cm

Charitable food assistance programs such as food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens and community meals are the main food resource available to Canadians who are experiencing food insecurity. A survey was conducted with 48 agencies that operate food assistance programs in Greater Victoria, 30 of which were providing meals. In comparison to groceries or hampers, meals made up the majority of food relief available in the region. An exploration of the characteristics, resources and resource-related challenges of charitable meal programs provided insight as to how the food relief system operates, who is being served and the limitations facing agencies responding to food needs at the community-level. A comparison of meal provisioning in a selection of meal programs in 2011 to a similar survey conducted in 2008 found meal provisioning increased two-fold over this three year time span, all while agencies relied more on food donations and nearly half underwent major changes to their services mainly due to constrained resources. This study afforded the opportunity to discuss responsiveness of this system to food insecurity in Greater Victoria. / Graduate

Canadian social scientist researchers have frequently pointed out the necessity of understanding food banks and the conceptualization of food insecurity as political in relation to the institutionalization of food banks and their collective interaction with federal, provincial, and corporate bodies. However, a comprehensive understanding of this role must additionally engage with discursive practices at the community level. Food banks, as the source to which hundreds of thousands of Canadians turn each month to receive temporary relief from hunger, offer a wealth of information in this regard. Through a discourse analysis of documentation produced and collected by a prominent British Columbia food bank, this research investigates how discourses, images, and constructions of poverty and food insecurity influence and are influenced by the policies and practices of providing food relief. Overall, 1391 documents were analyzed, totaling 3285 pages covering the time period from 1989 up to 2008. This thesis concludes that although various understandings of food insecurity exist within the food bank documents, certain understandings are more commonly produced, specifically in the external documentation, as well as in food bank policies and procedures. Commonly produced understandings included an individualized conceptualization of food insecurity and of those who are food insecure and discourses of differential deservedness among food bank users. Policies and procedures included a malleability of food distribution eligibility and a utilitarian guide to the framework of food bank operations. I argue that the reproduction of these discourses, along with the implementation of these particular policies and procedures within the food bank, are key processes through which the possibility of a conceptualization of food insecurity as political is diminished at the individual and community level.

Charitable food assistance programs such as food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens and community meals are the main food resource available to Canadians who are experiencing food insecurity. A survey was conducted with 48 agencies that operate food assistance programs in Greater Victoria, 30 of which were providing meals. In comparison to groceries or hampers, meals made up the majority of food relief available in the region. An exploration of the characteristics, resources and resource-related challenges of charitable meal programs provided insight as to how the food relief system operates, who is being served and the limitations facing agencies responding to food needs at the community-level. A comparison of meal provisioning in a selection of meal programs in 2011 to a similar survey conducted in 2008 found meal provisioning increased two-fold over this three year time span, all while agencies relied more on food donations and nearly half underwent major changes to their services mainly due to constrained resources. This study afforded the opportunity to discuss responsiveness of this system to food insecurity in Greater Victoria. / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 241-248). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 241-248). Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

<p>Multilaterally, Canada’s food system is not succeeding – this is related to jurisdictional disconnect in policy objectives and outcomes between aspects of the system. This “good food gap” requires integrated, system-focused solutions.Considering an ecosystems approach to biocultural anthropology and the community food security perspective, this thesis studied food banks’ use of fresh, local produce in Hamilton, Ontario – a city particularly affected by poverty and food insecurity. Mixed methods allowed a more holistic investigation: a nutritional assessment of 108 model grocery parcels from three Hamilton food banks over a local growing season was complemented by semi-structured interviews with 13 key stakeholders including food bank staff, clients and produce suppliers and others involved in community food work in Hamilton.</p> <p>Average parcel contents met or exceeded some nutritional targets, but other results were concerning: parcels contained high sodium levels, few servings of milk and alternatives and vegetable and fruit servings were seasonally-limited with fresh, local produce making a significant contribution during the harvest months. Also, parcels varied individually but those for smaller households were significantly more adequate than those for larger households. Non-nutritive benefits to food banks’ use of fresh, local produce were identified and seen to extend beyond the emergency food sector (EFS) though poor produce quality was considered a drawback. Infrastructure, knowledge and networks were the main categories of facilitating or limiting factors. These findings are situated within stakeholders’ discussions of the relationships between emergency food, food security, nutrition, culture and their future aspirations. The results support the position that overcoming the good food gap in Hamilton can be best accomplished by both improving the food bank system – such as through increasing the use of fresh, local produce – and moving beyond emergency food towards a just, sustainable, rights-based food system through the community food centre model.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Yes / This paper uses data from a city with a multi-ethnic, multi-faith population to better understand faith-based food aid. It aims to understand what constitutes faith-based responses to food insecurity; compare the prevalence and nature of faith-based food aid across different religions; and explore how community food aid meets the needs of a multi-ethnic, multi-faith population. Methodology The study involved two phases of primary research. In phase one, desk-based research and dialogue with stakeholders in local food security programmes was used to identify faith- based responses to food insecurity. Phase two consisted of 18 semi-structured interviews involving faith-based and secular charitable food aid organizations. Findings The paper illustrates the internal heterogeneity of faith-based food aid. Faith-based food aid is highly prevalent and the vast majority is Christian. Doctrine is a key motivation among Christian organizations for their provision of food. The fact that the clients at faith-based, particularly Christian, food aid did not reflect the local religious demographic is a cause for concern in light of the entry-barriers identified. This concern is heightened by the co-option of faith-based organizations by the state as part of the ‘Big Society’ agenda. Originality This is the first academic study in the UK to look at the faith-based arrangements of Christian and Muslim food aid providers, to set out what it means to provide faith-based food aid in the UK and to explore how faith-based food aid interacts with people of other religions and no religion.

Yes / This paper derives from a study of community food aid in a multi-ethnic, multi-faith city in the North of England. The paper begins to make sense of the diversity of types of food insecurity assistance, examines the potential exclusion of certain groups from receipt of food aid, and explores the relationship between food aid providers and the state. Faith-based food aid is common in the case study area, particularly among food bank provision to the most ‘destitute’ clients. While food aid is adopting service responsibilities previously borne by the state, this does not imply an extension of the ‘shadow state’. Rather, it appears reflective of a pre-welfare state system of food distribution, supported by religious institutions and individual/ business philanthropy, but adapted to be consistent with elements of the ‘Big Society’ narrative. Most faith-based providers are Christian. There is little Muslim provision of (or utilization of) food aid, despite the local demographic context. This raises concerns as to the unintentional exclusion of ethnic and religious groups which we discuss in the concluding sections. / CLAHRC