L’étude des situations de pauvreté et de leurs effets sur
les comportements alimentaires et la santé peut être approchée
par l’analyse de
l’alimentation des personnes ayant recours à l’aide alimentaire.
Cette population est hétérogène et rassemble des trajectoires
différentes
allant du (de la) travailleur(se) pauvre au migrant(e) privé(e) d’accès
légal au travail en passant par la figure centrale de l’allocataire
d’un
minima social. Pour tenter de faire face, les personnes concernées par
ces situations de pauvreté peuvent avoir recours aux associations distribuant
de l’aide alimentaire. Ce système de redistribution est donc du
ressort de la société civile qui intervient par le biais des associations
nationales et locales répondant dans la mesure de leurs moyens aux demandes
d’aide alimentaire.
Dietary behaviour and situations of poverty One approach to studying situations of poverty and their effects on dietary behaviour and health is to analyse the diets of individuals who frequent food aid distribution centers. This population is heterogeneous and brings people with different life histories together, from a poor worker to a migrant without legal access to work as well as those on social welfare. To help manage, people in situations of poverty may have access to food aid associations. This redistribution system relies on civil society which intervenes by means of national and local associations who respond within their available means to food aid demands. The Abena (Diet and nutritional status of food aid recipients) Study 2004-2005 was established to obtain much needed scientific knowledge about the nutritional status of people in very precarious situations. This study includes both an epidemiological survey and socio-anthropological study of populations dependent on food aid. The socio-anthropological study presented in this report describes the tools, data and analyses which were based on existing scientific literature as well as interviews with individuals who frequent food aid distribution centers and association managers. An analysis of in-depth interviews conducted among family units at their place of residence helps to better understand the various food strategies used when confronted daily with financial restrictions and precarious situations. The interviewed families reported having some "resources" due to their potential networks with professionals, families, friends and neighbours. The proposed analysis is based on a typology that describes the impact of these different social supports on dietary behaviour and provisioning strategies. This typology reveals that there are different levels of dependence on food aid which inversely varies in proportion to the strength of social supports. For the same level of resources, the contribution of food aid to the family food supplies is primarily determined by the possibility of receiving social support. However, even with existing strong social support, fragility is a common characteristic among this population which has a negative impact on dietary behaviour and health. This study helps to better understand how situations of poverty develop and how such situations affect dietary behaviour and nutritional status which were highlighted by the nutritional epidemiology survey. Both the epidemiological survey and socio-anthropological study provide foresight and prospects in the evolution of food aid.
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