scholarly journals Impact of the Social Café Meals program: a qualitative investigation

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Allen ◽  
Jacklin O'Connor ◽  
Emily Amezdroz ◽  
Pieta Bucello ◽  
Hannah Mitchell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Current Program ◽  
Community Contribution ◽  
The Impact

Social Café Meals Programs aim to reduce food insecurity and social exclusion by providing participants access to subsidised meals in mainstream local cafés. This study aimed to explore the program’s ability to address social exclusion and food insecurity and the impact of the program on the community. A qualitative evaluation approach was utilised whereby in-depth interviews were conducted with café owners, café staff and current program members of two Social Café Meals Programs operating in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Twelve program members and six café staff completed an in-depth interview at the local cafés. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach focusing on the lived experience of the café owners, staff and program members. Four key themes were identified. The program (i) improved food access for vulnerable groups and (ii) created community cohesiveness. (iii) The café environment was important in facilitating program use by community members. (iv) Café owners felt rewarded for their community contribution via the program. Social Café Meals Programs may provide a solution to improving food security and reducing social exclusion and may be considered as a strategy for improving nutrition and social health for at-risk and vulnerable groups.

scholarly journals In their own words: Understanding Australians’ priority concerns regarding mental health in the context of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlee Bower ◽  
Amarina Donohoe-Bales ◽  
Scarlett Smout ◽  
Andre Quan Ho Nguyen ◽  
Julia Boyle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Good Mental Health ◽  
Australian Community ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the recent bushfires and flash floods, have resulted in significant and unprecedented mental health impacts in Australia. Despite the known impacts, there is a paucity of research directly asking Australian community members about their mental health experiences and what they perceive to be the most important mental health issues in the context of the pandemic. This study utilises qualitative data from Alone Together, a longitudinal mixed-methods study investigating the effects of COVID-19 on mental health in an Australian community sample (N = 2,056). Of the 1,350 participants who completed the first follow-up survey, a total of 1,037 participants, who ranged in sex (69.9% female), age (M = 40-49 years), state/territory of residence, and socioeconomic status, shared responses to two open-ended questions regarding the most important issues for mental health in Australia and the impact of COVID-19 on their individual mental health. Responses were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants described COVID-19 as primarily impacting their mental health through the disruption it posed to their social world and financial stability. A key concern for participants who reported having poor mental health was the existence of multiple competing barriers to accessing good mental health care. According to participant responses, the pandemic had pressurized an already over-burdened mental health service system, leaving many without timely, appropriate support. Further absent or stigmatising rhetoric around mental health, at both a political and community level, also prevented participants from seeking help. Insights gained from the present research provide opportunities for policymakers and health practitioners to draw on the expertise of Australians’ lived experience and address priority issues through targeted policy planning. This could ultimately support a more responsive, integrated and effective mental health system, during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals The Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Correlates of Food Insecurity in Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Dudek ◽  
Joanna Myszkowska-Ryciak
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Household Composition ◽  
Social Program ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Households With Children ◽  
The Impact

While food insecurity (FI) has been extensively studied in many countries, there have been few empirical contributions in Poland to date. The main objective of our research was to identify the socio-demographic factors affecting the risk of FI in Poland within 2014–2019. Moreover, we aimed to examine the effects of the family-oriented social program “Family 500+” by comparing the situation in various types of households with children a few years before and after the program was launched. The analysis was based on the set of eight-item FI indicators adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization using the Gallup World Poll nationally representative survey data. Based on our results the most vulnerable groups in the context of FI were identified. We confirmed the importance of education, gender, age, marital status, household composition, status of employment and income in preventing FI. The effectiveness of the support program in reducing FI was demonstrated as households with at least three children experienced significant improvement in the FI status during the studied years. These findings should be especially important in the context of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on FI. As FI can affect the quality and quantity of food choices it is associated with a poorer health status, which increases the risk of infection, including COVID-19, and worsens recovery prognosis. Planning an efficient response to the pandemic requires a comprehension of the increased risk of exposure experienced by people, especially those who are food insecure.

How does negative experience sharing influence happiness in online brand community? A dual-path model

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 575-590
Author(s):  
Zhimin Zhou ◽  
Ge Zhan ◽  
Nan Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Mobile Internet ◽  
Path Model ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Negative Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Brand Community ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Consumers share negative brand experience in many occasions to vent their emotion and seek support. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of negative sharing on members’ happiness in online brand communities by drawing from two opposing constructs: social support and social exclusion. Design/methodology/approach Both survey and experiment methods were employed to test the conceptual model. Online survey data were collected from 1,015 mobile internet users. Findings The findings reveal that negative sharing may enhance a sharer’s happiness through online social support particularly for novice community members. The findings also indicate greater online social exclusion for experienced members than for novice members. These findings cast doubt on the widely held assumption that increased engagement in a community will always produces positive outcomes. The moderating effect of membership duration is confirmed with an experiment of MI’s brand community members. Research limitations/implications The study of happiness in online brand community sheds new light on consumer–brand and user–community relationships. Originality/value While most previous studies on negative sharing only explored the negative side of consequences, the authors contribute to this line of research by introducing both positive (social support) and negative (social exclusion) outcomes of negative reviews. The model also explains the conditions under which negative reviews enhance social support and social exclusion.

scholarly journals When Walmart leaves small towns : vulnerability, food insecurity and community resilience

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Yanu Endar Prasetyo
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Community Resilience ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Town

Walmart store closures, especially in rural areas, seem to be continuing since the company is moving forward in serving its urban customers and investing heavily in its digital features and markets. If this scenario happens, then many townspeople in a rural area will lose their only Walmart store, which has been part of the town for decades. There are many studies on the impact of Walmart's entry and presence in towns. However, investigating the effects of Walmart when they leave small towns is still rare. For this reason, this study is focused on addressing the impact of Walmart store closures in small towns in Missouri. The purpose of this study is to identify factors affecting the residents' perception of and response toward the impact of Walmart's store closure in Rural Areas. Our conceptual framework is designed to assess household vulnerability and incorporate food insecurity factors to capture how vulnerability and resilience in rural communities change because of the closure of a Walmart store. This approach may help us better understand the linkages between community vulnerability and community resilience. Using a mixed-method design, we explored the residents' perceptions, opinions, and experiences regarding the closing of Walmart. Data from both the qualitative phase (observation, semi-structured interview, group discussion, and document analysis) and quantitative phase (community-based drop-off and pick-up surveys) of this study then mixed in the final analysis to provide a more detailed and complete description of the effect of Walmart store closures in rural Missouri. We found that people were overwhelmingly disappointed and angry when Walmart closed in their area in 2017. Most residents said they felt disappointed (46 percent) and angry (41 percent) about Walmart's decision. There was a change in households' attitudes and shopping habits after Walmart left these towns, including a significant decline (54.9 percent) in shopping frequency among residents who often shop at Walmart. Not having Wal sense of losing pride in being part of the town. When Caruthersville and Piedmont still had Walmart in town, it became the center of community for the surrounding towns and the entire county. The number of households that fall into vulnerability categories (very lowvulnerable, low-vulnerable, vulnerable, and very vulnerable) is calculated and obtained from Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA). The data showed that most households fell into a vulnerable (39.8 percent) and low-vulnerable situation (34.6 percent) after Walmart left and were able to cope with this stressor. Households in the neighboring towns (Patterson, Williamsville, and Greenville) that were 10-15 miles from Piedmont also had a high percentage of vulnerable groups (47.6 percent) and very vulnerable households (6.5 percent). Based on this study, the Walmart store's closure in Piedmont had a bigger impact on both the households within the host town and their neighboring towns. Our findings also confirmed that many residents in these areas rely on government assistance programs, especially SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program), the most extensive federal nutrition program in the U.S. About 43.7 percent of households in Caruthersville, 25.5 percent of households in Piedmont, and 24.4 percent of households in the neighboring town are SNAP recipients. These findings further prove that SNAP recipients and community food bank/pantry users were more sensitive to Walmart's store closure. While SNAP benefits provided valuable support to many households, the retail mobility -- increased proximity to small retailers and decreased proximity to many large ones (Walmart) -- would negatively affect townspeople. This study suggests that Policymakers and public health experts need to work closely to ensure healthier and more equitable food systems since small retailers may provide limited access to fresh and healthy foods. Future research can also evaluate the impact of existing small retailers - that authorized for SNAPof the rural community.

scholarly journals The Impact of Covid-19 on Food Security. A qualitative analysis of the rise in London’s existing food insecurity due to the financial impact of Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-50
Author(s):  
Leandra Geyser
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Financial Impact ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Background: The lockdown, enforced by government to limit the spread of Covid-19, has resulted in economic standstill equating to decreased working hours, pay cuts and job losses which has caused an increase in food insecurity. In the latest global food security report, 3.4 million people in the UK alone were found to be moderately to severely food insecure. Since the lockdown began, 8 million people have reported food insecurity which disproportionately effects those most vulnerable. This study aims to determine who these vulnerable groups to food insecurity are in the UK and what needs to be done to facilitate positive change and minimise future inequalities. Methods: This observational quantitative study makes use of the Understanding Society Covid-19 survey data which forms part of a longstanding longitudinal study that has acted as a representative of all households within the UK since 2009. Access to raw data was granted by the UK Data Service and was analysed using the appropriate SPSS tests. The original sample was stratified to be representative of London, which then consisted of 1849 respondents. Selected questions relating to financial and food bank use were analysed using SPSS and compared between February (pre-lockdown) and April (post-lockdown). Results: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) respondents and those not born in the UK had significantly less monthly income than their counterparts in February and remained significantly lower during the lockdown. These groups also had an increased dependency on foodbanks since the start of the pandemic. Conclusion: BAME communities and those not born in the UK are revealed to be the most vulnerable groups to food insecurity. The government has taken steps to mitigate the negative financial impact of the pandemic for some, yet many had to rely on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to fill in the gaps. The current health crisis provides an opportunity for change and the UK government should act now to prevent many more becoming victims to food insecurity.

scholarly journals Household food security during Covid-19 pandemic in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-143
Author(s):  
Nurwulan Purnasari ◽  
Titisari Juwitangtyas ◽  
Iman Sabarisman
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Household Food ◽  
The Impact

Household food security in Indonesia depends on many factors. This study aims to describe household food security during the Covid-19 pandemic in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY). This research was conducted using a questionnaire for taking data. This study showed that there was a difference in household food security between the pre-pandemic of Covid-19 and during the pandemic of Covid-19. The hunger scale di DIY at the pre-pandemic of Covid-19 was 6% and increased during the pandemic of Covid-19 to 11%. It is showed that the financial crisis because of Covid-19 also influenced at increasing household food insecurity. As far as future research is concerned, the impact of food insecurity in vulnerable groups within the studied communities needs to be determined.

scholarly journals Immigrant social inclusion in Europe: A descriptive investigation

Europa XXI ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 105-124
Author(s):  
Dionyssis Balourdos ◽  
Maria Petraki
Keyword(s):  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
Social Expenditure ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Third Country Nationals

This paper represents an empirical investigation into the risk of poverty or social exclusion facing immigrants across Europe. The methodological approach is based on the set of ‘Zaragoza indicators’, in the domain of social inclusion, together with some proposed additional ones: income distribution and monetary poverty, material deprivation, in-work poverty, child poverty and risk of poverty or social exclusion. The main research question concerns whether immigrants/third-country nationals and nationals constitute two rather distinct groups in terms of exposure to poverty or social exclusion. Mainly using data from the EU-SILC Survey, we find that third-country nationals are severely disadvantaged in most countries, and are occasionally exposed to risks multiple times higher than nationals. There are European countries with similar immigrant populations in which these immigrants experience less favorable outcomes compared to other populations in other countries. Comparative analysis allows us to test the significance of different welfare systems in protecting vulnerable groups such as immigrants, using Eurostat statistics and the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX). In a cross-country analysis, taking demographic and macro-economic differences into account, results show that the impact of social expenditure on poverty is not significant when it comes to protecting third-country nationals.

scholarly journals Penguatan Peran Warga Masyarakat Dalam Perencanaan, Penganggaran, dan Evaluasi Hasil Pembangunan Desa

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Susetiawan Susetiawan ◽  
DC Mulyono ◽  
Muhammad Yunan Roniardian
Keyword(s):  
Development Planning ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Village Community ◽  
Women Poor ◽  
Disabled Women ◽  
The Future ◽  
Village Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Village

Law No. 6 of 2014 mandates that village development planning should be implemented in a participatory manner, involving all communities including vulnerable groups (minorities, disabled, women, poor). It is so that the development undertaken by the village really beneficial to all villagers in the village. However, to date, most villages in Indonesia are still unable to implement the mandate of the Act. There are villages that carry out elitist development planning, fully undertaken by the village administration without the involvement of the community. There are also villages that have tried to involve the community, through musrenbangdes mechanism, but unfortunately not all community components are invited in the musrenbangdes. The impact of development planning that has not been participatory is that village development can not be felt by all levels of society. Meanwhile, village development can not be said to succeed if there are still some people who have not been able to feel the benefits. As one of the efforts to realize the participatory village development planning, PSPK UGM conducts training on planning, budgeting and evalauasi of village development results in Jomboran Village. The activity involves representatives from all components of the village community (community members, administrators of social organizations, and village government), and through this training it is hoped that in the future village development planning can be implemented in a participatory manner so that the results of the builders can be felt by all citizens. 

Biopower, Disciplinary Power and Surveillance: An Ethnographic Analysis of the Lived Experience of People Who Use Drugs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 286-301
Author(s):  
Benjamin Scher
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Disciplinary Power ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Downtown Eastside ◽  
Site Staff ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Focusing on the role of police as primary actors in the arena of citizen safety, this article examines the impact of policing practices on the daily lived experience of people who use drugs in accessing a supervised consumption site in Vancouver, Canada. The site is located in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighborhood at a community center that I refer to as the Hawthorne Resource Centre. The method of data collection for this study comprised five months of ethnographic fieldwork, including focus groups and one-on-one interviews with community members accessing the site, site staff and management. Drawing on Foucauldian conceptualizations of power, the findings of this research suggest that governmental modes of power, including biopower and disciplinary power, are pervasively operative in various realms of the day to day lives of the Hawthorne Resource Centre clients. Evidence of the scalable nature of these modes of power are seen within the internal functioning of the Supervised Consumption Site, outside in the methods of community policing in the DTES and in weekly police practices in Oppenheimer Park. As such, this study represents a multiscalar assessment of how these Foucauldian power structures work at multiple levels and locations in the DTES. Driven by the narratives of the Hawthorne Resource Centre clients, the findings of this research illustrate not only the importance of understanding power relations within specific policy interventions, but further, highlight how specific tactics mobilized within “harm reduction policing” would be relevant and applicable to the context of the DTES.

The intersection of food insecurity and health for rural Malawian women at the end of life

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 372-382
Author(s):  
Anne Dressel ◽  
Elizabeth Mkandawire ◽  
Kaboni Whitney Gondwe ◽  
Lucy Mkandawire-Valhmu ◽  
Stacia Nordin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Care Programme ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
The Impact

Background One of the poorest countries in the world, Malawi's palliative care system is under-resourced, and one-third of the population is food-insecure. Aims This study describes the lived experience of female palliative care patients, and their caregivers, and aimed to: (1) analyse their physical, spiritual and mental health needs; and (2) analyse best palliative nursing practice for patients at the end of life. An unexpected finding was the impact of food insecurity on the women and their caregivers. Methods We conducted interviews with 26 women who at the end of life and 14 of their caregivers. All were participating in a community palliative care programme offered by an AIDS support organisation in Kasungu, Malawi. We used deductive qualitative analysis to organise identified themes using the four pillars of food security: availability, access, utilisation and stability. Findings All study participants experienced challenges with food security. Conclusions We offer policy recommendations for palliative care nurses, and other allied health professionals.

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