The industrial revolution led to a society where each person could now produce more than their requirements to survive, giving people the means to direct efforts towards education, artistic and developmental endeavours. Unfortunately, on an individual level, many of us are struggling with our own goals due to the lack of nourishment daily. It is clear that the ability to study, work or otherwise be productive is difficult without the adequate fuel – however, the emotional and societal effects of foods presence or lack of are not so obvious.
Rebekah Graham states that “Families experiencing food insecurity face social exclusion, monotony of food choice, loss of dignity and anxiety and stress.” (130) Which is unsurprising considering the roots of cuisine within spiritual aspects of culture, symbolic nature within religion and bond amongst a community. By cutting off an individual’s connection with their food, you cut them off from their heritage, friends and whanau. When a family cannot share a meal, it can leave very little time of the day to connect and when food cannot be afforded for visitors – visitors simply are not invited. Isolation caused by relationships to food can happen at many levels – sometimes on an individual level, sometimes between families or communities. By offering shared meals, shared mealtimes and harvests, programmes like The Breakfast Club and Kiwiharvest can reconnect someone to their friends, whanau and the broader community – instilling both a sense of identity and belonging, not so much to ask.
