Food and social perceptions of the participants in charitable cafés in an affluent northeastern US town: a grounded theory approach

ABSTRACT

There are relatively few studies exploring the emotional and somatic dimensions of homelessness that give this population a voice in research. This investigation explores guest informants’ perceptions of foods offered at local charitable café settings and their road to the charitable food table. A total of 63 guests were given demographic surveys and interviewed during multiple sessions at 1 church and 2 Jewish temples in an affluent northeastern US suburb in 2019. This qualitative research utilized a Grounded Theory approach. The following 6-themes were generated: Food Security & Nutrition, Victimization & Disempowerment, Isolation: Community; Respite, Resignation & Systematic Bias and Intention. The guests had a number of important unmet needs which fell outside of their concern for food, including community inclusivity, distress and importantly, reliable engagement of social support networks. The findings suggest a need for food and nutrition along with social services at charitable cafés. An interventional model leading to self-efficacy is proposed. The Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Identity theories were also applied to the findings to demonstrate the implications and recommendations of this research.

KEYWORDS:

• Charitable cafés
• food charity
• food and nutrition
• grounded theory
• homelessness
• social services

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was done under the auspice of the Montclair State University (MSU) Institutional Review Board: IRB-FY17-18-1044.

Notes on contributors

Charles Feldman

Charles Feldman, PhD, is a Professor of Food Studies in the Nutrition and Food Studies department of Montclair State University, in Montclair, NJ, US.

Shahla Wunderlich

Dr. Shahla Wunderlich, PhD, RD, is Professor Emeritus of the Nutrition and Food Studies department of Montclair State University.

Paul Paez

Paul Paez, MS, is graduate of the Nutrition and Food Science Graduate Program at Montclair State University.

Melisa Lopez

Melisa Lopez, MS, is graduate of the Nutrition and Food Science Graduate Program at Montclair State University.

Dana Schules

Dana Schules, MS, are graduates of the Nutrition and Food Science Graduate Program at Montclair State University.

Gwendolyn Ames

Gwendolyn Ames, Ed D, is the Higher Education Opportunity Program Director at Nyack College, as well as the Executive Director of the Montclair Emergency Services for Hope program in Montclair, NJ.

Alyssa Smolen

Alyssa Smolen is a graduate student in the Nutrition and Food Science Graduate Program at Montclair State University.