Abstract

FOOD FOR ALL? AN EXPLORATION OF THE FOOD BANK EXPERIENCE IN THE HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY

Meredith Kratzmann & Lois Jackson

Background: A recent report of the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) indicates that the number of children in Canada living with hunger is increasing (CCSD, 2002). Simultaneously, the use of food banks is on the rise (Wilson & Tsoa, 2001), reflecting growing food insecurity and poverty. In many regions food banks are the dominant, if not the only, form of food assistance, as is the case in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This qualitative case study was undertaken to explore the experiences of food bank users at two different food banks in Halifax.

Methodology: This case study included participant observation and semi-structured interviews with food bank staff and a convenience sample of 10 food bank users, who represented more than 10 children. Interview questions addressed the experience of using a food bank, perceptions of how society views food banks, and ideas for improving food banks, ending poverty, and putting food on the table.

Findings: Many respondents indicated that using a food bank was not their preferred method for obtaining food, but that the changing contexts of their lives drastically affected the availability of money for purchasing their own groceries. Key situations that impacted their food security include: 1) the desire to ensure that their children can participate in the activities, which often require funds, that other children take part in (e.g. school trips, extra-curricular clubs), and 2) the timing of assistance, supermarket promotions, and incidental expenses. Implications for public, private, corporate, and organizational (within food banks) policy will also be discussed.

References

Canadian Council on Social Development (2002). Child hunger increasing in Canada as gap widens between haves and have-nots, CCSD report concludes. Ottawa, ON: CCSD Retrieved on-line, November 4, 2002, from: http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2002/pcc02/pr.htm.

Wilson, B. & Tsao, E. (2001). HungerCount 2001: Food bank lines in insecure times. Toronto, ON: Canadian Association of Food Banks, p. 1-21.

Bios

Meredith Kratzmann is currently a Masters student in Health Promotion/Health Education at Dalhousie University. Her Master’s thesis explores the experience of food insecurity, the organizational structure of food banks, and systemic inequality as it relates to food insecurity. Her research interests also include program evaluation, and addictions and harm reduction. She is currently working as a research assistant on provincial and national food security projects conducted in partnership between the Nova Scotia Nutrition Council, the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre, and Family Resource Centres throughout Nova Scotia. She is also working as an Evaluation Consultant for Mainline Needle Exchange in Halifax, evaluating their Hepatitis C prevention program and their exploratory research with the cocaine using population in Nova Scotia. Ms. Kratzmann has worked with the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Capital District Health Authority, Addiction Services, to produce documents relating to school-based policies on student drug use and gambling. She has worked in the United States as a program coordinator and case manager for a non-profit organization serving economically disadvantaged individuals. Ms. Kratzmann received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Gerontology at the University of Waterloo. There she gained an interest in social policy issues while working on her honors project that examined how Canadian retirement and pension policies may contribute to poverty among widowed women.

Lois A. Jackson, BA, MA, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Health Education Programme at the School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University. Prior to coming to Dalhousie University Dr. Jackson was a Research Consultant for the City of Toronto Teaching Health Unit, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto. Dr. Jackson holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Toronto, and from 1990-93 held a post-doctoral fellowship in AIDS Research in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics (now Department of Public Health Sciences) at the University of Toronto. Currently, Dr. Jackson is the recipient of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Regional Partnership Investigator’s Award. Her main areas of research interest are the social determinants of health of vulnerable populations with a particular focus on female sex trade workers, injection drug users, and youth. Much of her work uses qualitative methods. Dr. Jackson has published numerous articles and book chapters and is currently involved with a major collaborative research initiative (www.coastsunderstress.ca), which is examining the ways in which social, economic and industrial restructuring is impacting the health and well-being of Canada’s coastal communities in British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

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