Women Redefining the Experience of Food Insecurity by Page-Reeves Janet;

Author:Page-Reeves, Janet;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1732040
Publisher: Lexington Books

For each type of food Jessica sought (fruit, vegetables, meat, canned goods), she had a different source that met her dietary, taste, or economic needs. Although she walked for most of her food acquisition, the distance to Mustaza’s required her to go with her mother, who owns a vehicle. By combining sources and strategies, Jessica felt generally satisfied with her ability to get the foods she wanted.

Food banks were used by others as a strategy to mitigate cost. Wanda, a near-northwest resident in her 50s, stated that she hadn’t bought canned goods in about three years because she could get them from food banks. She felt this strategy enabled her to afford fresh produce, dairy, and meat. Many other residents in the near-northwest took advantage of food bank sources. Numerous churches and food banks serving the poor stood out as one of the near-northwest’s only features that enabled food acquisition better than the lower-east. Chantel, a near-northwest resident in her early thirties, discussed the available nearby food bank sources: “Churches and stuff give out free food.... You just gotta know which ones to go to.” Many residents in near-northwest, like Chantel and Wanda, knew of several food bank sources. In our informal conversation after Chantel’s interview, she and some friends shared information about weekly food bank sources in the neighborhood that covered nearly every day of the week.

Traveling outside of the neighborhood to procure food was not an equally viable strategy for residents of the two neighborhoods in this study. June, a 40-year-old resident of the lower-east, was able to get to Eastern Market by walking: “I walk through the apartments and take my little shortcut and I end up over there at the Eastern Market.... I get a better deal.” Although June did not have an automobile, she was still able to pursue a strategy wherein she could obtain cheaper and healthier foods by walking to an adjacent section of the city. This is because of the lower-east neighborhood’s proximity to Eastern Market. Kiara refused to shop at the store nearest to her because of quality concerns. She walked farther to shop at another store. However, she was still unsatisfied with the high prices at her alternative choice. Unlike June in the lower-east, Kiara’s extra walking could only reasonably get her to a store that she was still somewhat dissatisfied with.

Seventeen of the 25 women expressed that concerns about crime often prevent them from conducting their everyday routines. Residents who were concerned about crime were more reluctant to walk longer distances to stores they perceived as better than options closer to home. Concerns about crime limited the ability of respondents to shop at stores outside of their immediate communities. Michelle, an 18-year-old woman living in the near-northwest, told how she was robbed during the daytime while walking about one mile from her home: “It’s certain places I won’t go in the daytime.... Like, the General Market ... that’s where I got robbed at. And it was in daylight, you know? Wasn’t nobody helping me.

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