FOOD INSECURITY AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AMONG GHANAIANS LIVING IN MANCHESTER, UK Hibbah Araba Saeed1, Katie Powell1, Mary Nicolaou 2 and Michelle Holdsworth1
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
BACKGROUND • Food insecurity is a major public health concern linked with malnutrition and health.
Religious beliefs
• Ghanaians are one of the largest immigrant population groups from sub Saharan Africa living in the UK. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they have a high level of social support in their communities, but the role of this resource in relation to food security is unknown.
Provision of food, food banks
Shared accommodation
Perceived food security
• Transcripts coded in Nvivo
• 29 face to face interviews • 5 steps in framework analysis with 31 participant, M=13, followed F=18 • Data management and analysis • 25 years and above undertaken concurrently
FINDINGS Apriori themes
Emergent themes
3 pillars of food insecurity (availability, accessibility, utilization)
Perceived buffers to food insecurity Perceived risk factors
Theme
INTERPRETATION • There is some acknowledgement that food insecurity does exist amongst Ghanaians, although the majority of the participants perceived themselves as food secure. • There is evidence that food insecurity may be buffered by social support provided amongst Ghanaians. • The church context forms a trusted base in which people operate; support given through the church (either through social networks or food banks) is more acceptable than through the “official context”. • Food insecure households maybe reluctant to make use of food banks for the fear of gossip and pride. Paradoxically, this reluctance does not extend to participants’ close networks’.
CONCLUSION
Social support
“I have some friends who are not working, so I help by making food available”. (P2, 25-33) [Participant shows how he supports other Ghanaians]
Food banks
“I don’t think Ghanaians even know there are food banks. It’s a matter of pride, it’s not in our culture to go to places to look for food. People will think what if I am seen”. (P4,45-64yrs)[Participant explains why Ghanaians may not go to the ‘official’ food banks]
Cultural identity
Social network
through
Financial
DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS
Social support foodbank
shapes
Other social groups e.g. Ghana Union
CHURCH
• We explored perceptions of the three main components of food insecurity (availability, accessibility, utilization) among Ghanaians living in Greater Manchester. The role of social support in enhancing food security was explored to identify potential coping mechanisms for food insecure households
• Purposive sampling
SOCIAL SUPPORT
obligates
channel
• In the UK, minority ethnic groups tend to have higher levels of poverty than the white British population and therefore may be at higher risk of food insecurity.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
“we cannot sit and watch our fellow brother or sister go hungry whilst we eat, it’s not in our nature as Ghanaians, that’s why you will never see any of us going to the food banks”.(P5, 45-64yrs) [Participant explains why Ghanaians do not patronise food banks]
1
Participants acknowledged food insecurity existed among some Ghanaians in the community, however the social support system that exists amongst Ghanaians is perceived to reduce the risk.
RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS • We do not know whether the resources of the church are sufficient to meet the needs of the most deprived. Is the church able to target the most deprived? If not how can we help such people? • There is the need to explore the paradox about - the fear of gossip and pride and disclosure to close and trusted allies. • Quantitative research is needed to better assess accessibility and utilisation pillars of food insecurity.
Public Health Section, School of Health and Related Research-ScHARR, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
2
