The rise in food insecurity is at the heart of recent research by two teams at the Faculty of Health Sciences. Led on the one hand by professors Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson (School of Nutrition Sciences) and Alex Dumas (School of Human Kinetics), and on the other by Professor Mwali Muray (School of Nursing), these projects are exploring different aspects of food insecurity — an issue that is not just defined by a lack of food.
Starting life on an equal footing
In the 1,000 days from conception to age two, a healthy diet is vital for children’s physical and cognitive development. According to Fontaine-Bisson and Dumas, poor nutrition during pregnancy can not only harm mothers’ and babies’ health in the short and long term, but it can also perpetuate social inequalities across generations.
“If we really want to make a difference in health, pregnancy and early childhood are crucial windows of opportunity,” says Fontaine-Bisson. “Having access to nutritious food and taking multivitamin supplements can have lasting effects on a child’s health, extending well beyond early childhood.”
Fontaine-Bisson specializes in perinatal nutrition, while Dumas is a sport sociologist who studies social inequalities in health. They combined their areas of expertise to launch a research program in perinatal social nutrition, which promotes nutrition equity in the months before and after birth.
Their research team is partnering with Fondation Olo to assess the foundation’s perinatal nutrition program in three regions of Quebec, including Outaouais, as well as Montreal and Quebec City. The program offers personalized nutrition support for low-income pregnant clients, coupons for nutritious food, prenatal multivitamin supplements and a range of helpful tools. Quebec’s decision to incorporate the perinatal nutrition program into its health-care system sets it apart from other Canadian provinces and territories, note Fontaine-Bisson and Dumas.
The professors and their team will meet with managers, care providers and Olo program participants to identify what works, for whom and in what circumstances.
“In the end, what we want is to spark conversations about perinatal health and to recognize that it’s a critical period in women’s and children’s lives,” says Dumas. He hopes that one day, governments will ensure mothers and babies in vulnerable situations have fair access to healthy food. “It would be a good investment for society,” he says.
Cultural minorities left hungry for more options
Food insecurity doesn’t just mean not having enough food, notes Mwali Muray. It can also mean “not having enough culturally appropriate food.”
Muray is leading three nursing research projects to promote food equity among African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) community members living in long-term care homes. She’s investigating how a culturally appropriate diet could help reduce health risks for these groups. In Canada, ACB people are more than twice as likely as non-ACB people to experience food insecurity, she says, and they’re at an increased risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and depression.
“We’re seeing more and more diversity among older adults,” says Muray, who previously worked in long-term care. “But long-term care facilities have not kept pace with the cultural representation of their residents and what’s important to them. Some people would rather not eat at all than navigate an environment where everything is unfamiliar to them, including the food.”
Muray’s research team will analyze regional and federal food policy to find opportunities to reform rules and practices that could lower food insecurity among ACB residents of long-term care homes. She will also be working with community organizations in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta that offer food services to people from these backgrounds to determine if some of the practices in this sector could also be used in long-term care.
“We hope to inform practices in long-term care,” Muray says, “including how institutions organize their food services so they can better meet the needs of ACB communities.” She adds that small changes like cultural adaptations to existing recipes could go a long way toward fighting this form of food insecurity.