"We have a roof over our head, but we have to eat too:" Exploring shifting foodscapes from homelessness into Housing First in Kingston, Ontario.

Abstract

People facing extended periods of homelessness exhibit a remarkable degree of agency and resilience in procuring food. The literature on foodscapes considers the sociospatial contexts of food procurement, finding that what happens within and along the way to sites of food acquisition and consumption are important considerations in fully understanding and realizing food security. This study explores the shift in foodscapes of people who are transitioning from homelessness into scattered-site independent housing via a municipal Housing First program and considers implications for health and wellbeing. Our mixed-method approach included observational research at 11 local food providers and drop-in centres that provided context for semi-structured interviews with 10 Housing First clients in Kingston, Ontario between November 2016 and March 2017. The findings confirm that the provision of stable housing makes it possible for people to store, prepare, and consume food at home. An increased ability to have control over when, where, and what is eaten had a positive impact on people's sense of health and wellbeing. However, other effective markers of wellbeing were enacted along people's everyday routines and activities that had negative impacts. Interviewees remained heavily dependent on charitable food programs, including increased use of foodbanks. Others reported increasing detachment and social isolation from previously established food routines. Finally, the structured transition perpetuated a circuit of dependence and marginalization that fell short of contributing to improved food security as well as health and wellbeing. Understanding the relational geography of foodscape transitions is critical to the design of effective Housing First programs. Addressing the root causes of homelessness and poverty requires investments in comprehensive housing strategies including adequate social assistance and community supports that take a sociospatially holistic approach to wellbeing.