Food sociability, a lever for social action against isolation and malnutrition among people in precarious situations? Towards a holistic and inclusive approach to food aid (SociAlim)
Understand how shared cooking and eating can help to combat food insecurity through a more holistic, inclusive and participatory approach to food aid.
Food insecurity affects an increasingly large and diverse number of people in France. Its consequences are manifold, affecting not only their physical health, but also their psychological and social health. The French food aid system plays a crucial role in the fight against food insecurity, providing financial aid, free meals and/or low-cost foodstuffs. However, more and more voices are being raised to denounce the perverse effects that the current food aid system can have: malnutrition, social disqualification, continued precariousness, etc. Over the past decade or so, a new model has emerged in France, based on the sociability of food as a lever for social action. This is particularly true of schemes such as culinary workshops and shared meals, which aim to combat malnutrition and social isolation among the most “vulnerable” populations. These schemes are based on the educational and relational potential offered by commensality and shared cooking, while aiming to be more participative and inclusive than traditional food aid. Yet few studies have looked at such schemes, whose effectiveness is not self-evident.
The SociAlim project proposes to study culinary workshops and shared meals set up as part of the fight against food insecurity in France. Using a comparative approach based on the theories and methods of qualitative sociology and cultural anthropology (participant observation, semi-directive interviews, literature review), this research aims to put into perspective two types of schemes already in place or yet to be set up: one “out-of-home” run by the French Red Cross as part of its new food intake strategy, and the other “in-home” by residents living in shared housing whose collective spaces are conducive to the implementation of such schemes. The SociAlim project takes an original approach, examining both the complex mechanisms by which food is affected by precariousness, and the way in which food can be an effective lever in the fight against food insecurity in France, by promoting social ties and nutrition.
In particular, we’ll be looking at how these new food facilities can (or can’t) enable the acquisition of culinary and nutritional knowledge and know-how, while promoting participation, autonomy, social integration and recognition of participants’ socio-cultural diversity.
In scientific terms, the SociAlim project aims to :
- a better understanding of precarious situations, their diversity, causes and consequences in terms of food.
- a better understanding of the impact of food insecurity on the physical, psychological and social health of individuals.
- a better understanding of the links between social exclusion/inclusion, cuisine and commensality.
The results of the study will offer numerous benefits to the social players involved:
- For individuals in precarious situations: recognition of their uniqueness and the diversity of their dietary practices and representations, leading to better management of their situations and greater participation and autonomy.
- For project leaders and practitioners: a better understanding of the structural and social mechanisms involved in food insecurity, enabling them to implement more effective and sustainable actions.
- For volunteers: a better understanding of the socio-cultural mechanisms involved in food, less tension in the field and a revaluation of their activities.
Biography
Trained in cultural anthropology and qualitative sociology, Sonia Bouima is a social science researcher, trainer and consultant in the field of food. After conducting a survey on the impact of halting sites on the health of Travellers during her Master’s degree in anthropology at Lyon 2 University, she turned her attention to senior citizens’ diet during a doctoral thesis in sociology at Paris Saclay University, in partnership with the Institut Paul Bocuse and the AG2R La Mondiale protection group. Her action-research on culinary workshops and shared meals set up “by” and “for” senior citizens as part of the national fight against undernutrition enabled her to identify the contributions and limitations of such schemes. She soon realized that food was a privileged entry point for understanding the mechanisms at work in social inequalities in health, as well as a fabulous tool for social mediation and innovation.
This interest in food is also reflected in the training courses she runs. Since 2015 and in partnership with the Lyfe Institute, Sonia Bouima has been raising awareness among care assistants at the Hospices civils de Lyon (HCL) of the socio-cultural dimensions of food, with a view to improving the welcome and well-being of patients through hospital meal service. She has also set up the “food and society” module at the 3A international school of responsible management, where she trains future humanitarian project leaders in issues relating to precariousness and food aid. In the autumn of 2022, she set up Humaneaty®, a company offering research and consultancy services to any organization wishing to develop reasoned food services, products or systems. In this context, she is supporting the development of cooking courses focusing on plant-based nutrition and the culinary reuse of food waste.