Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

"ICS Travel Awards" According to Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, food is a human right. Yet, the inability of people to achieve this right in Canada represents a profound injustice. Food insecurity can be defined as the inability to adequately access nutritional food in a socially acceptable and dignified manner (Davis & Tarasuk, 1994, Canadian Dietetic Association, 1991). Among Canadians, food insecurity is experienced by a disproportionate number of Aboriginal people relative to other population groups. The purpose of my research will be to characterize the geography of food insecurity from the perspectives of low-income Aboriginal women living in Winnipeg. In a one-year project, I employed a mixed-method feminist participatory research approach to uncover geographic barriers (physical and social) that low-income single Aboriginal mothers encounter in their efforts to secure nutritional food for their families. Recent research has shown that food insecurity has both physical and mental health implications. For example, my undergraduate thesis research found that women's dignity is undermined in multiple ways during food acquisition and provisioning activities. To better understand the contextual dynamics of food dignity, I have worked closely with the women of Ka Ni Kanicihk, a community-based non-profit organization in Winnipeg dedicated to providing Aboriginal focused programs and services. Our research has documented how an inadequate transportation system, experiences of racism during grocery shopping journeys, and challenges in securing affordable healthy foods represent three forms of injustice faced by these women. Moreover, our participatory approach has helped us to document how young mothers have developed creative strategies to navigate unjust urban and governmental systems andbecome motivated to share their stories and survival strategies with others.