Towards women’s emancipation for food security: Can participatory action research create a path?
- Patricia Williams Mount Saint Vincent University
- Manfred Egbe Mount Saint Vincent University
- Chloe Pineau Mount Saint Vincent University
- Madeleine Waddington Nova Scotia Health Authority
- Sarah Shaw Sustain Nutrition, St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Labrador Canada
Abstract
In this paper we draw upon a document review of qualitative data −FoodARC partners participatory food costing research – 2001-2017 in Nova Scotia, Canada− on women’s experiences and outcomes of participatory action research (PAR) to examine: 1) the food insecurity-induced stigma, shame, marginalization, and exclusion experienced by Nova Scotia’s low-income, lone, and stay-at-home mothers, and the resulting implications for their health and well-being; 2) how PAR approaches have contributed to shame resiliency and other capacity building at individual, organizational, community, and systems levels for addressing food insecurity. Insights from this research demonstrate evidence of personal and collective empowerment as a result of participation in PAR. Women have co-created knowledge and personal and collective agency that has served to help shift discourse on food insecurity towards more upstream approaches.
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