Grant: Project Grant

In Canada, hunger jeopardizes the health and well-being of one out of eight households. Donations of food banks are a well-known attempt to resolve the problem, but not everyone agrees on their benefit. Some think they are part of the problem, because they undermine the movement to adopt policies to fight against poverty. Others see them rather as a bridge to other community services that help people pull through. Who is right? For now, there is insufficient scientific data available to settle the matter. In a previous study we demonstrated the positive effects of food donation on food safety and on the physical and mental health of those using these community organizations. The results must be confirmed, however, and several questions remain. What is the trajectory of the people who call on these organizations? Do they find the guidance they need to overcome the hardships at the root of their request for food? In what way? On what conditions? Is the situation different in Montreal, in the periphery, or in rural areas? It is in an attempt to answer these questions that our team proposes to meet, three times over two years, 1,800 new users of 180 community organizations offering food donations in four regions of Quebec (Montreal, Estrie, Lanaudière, and Mauricie-Centre-du-Québec). Interviews with organization heads and with users with different pathways will help complete the picture. Our team brings together veteran and new researchers, and also 16 organizations intimately familiar with the environments to be studied. Together, they will communicate their results to practitioners, managers, and decision-makers to improve public and community network planning and intervention practices and to guide public policies on food security.