Snap-Send-Share-Story: A Methodological Approach to Understanding Urban Residents’ Household Food Waste Group Stories in The Hague (Netherlands)

Rich understandings of the phenomenon, urban household food waste (HFW), are critical to realizing the vision of sustainable, inclusive human settlement. In 2018/19, an exploratory study of HFW perceptions and practices of a diversity of urban residents, was conducted in the Bezuidenhout neighborhood, The Hague (Netherlands). Nineteen participants, communicating in one of three languages, as per their preference, participated through-out this visually enhanced study. The sequential “Snap-Send-Share-Story” qualitative, participatory action research (PAR) inspired methodology, employed in the study, is introduced in this paper. Focus groups (“Story”) which resourced and followed photovoice individual interviews (“Snap-Send-Share”) are principally emphasized. Three focus groups were conducted viz. Dutch (n = 7), English (n = 7) and Arabic (n = 5), within a narrative, photo elicitation style. Explicit and tacit, sensitive, private and seemingly evident yet hard to succinctly verbalize interpretations of HFW—shared and contested—were expressed through group stories. Participants accessed a stream of creativity, from photographing HFW in the privacy of their homes to co-constructing stories in the social research space of focus groups. Stories went beyond the content of the photographs to imagine zero HFW. This approach encouraged critical interaction, awareness of HFW, reflexive synthesis of meaning and deliberations regard social and ecological action.

Download Full-text

Comparing Lab-Measured and Surveyed Bread Waste Data: A Possible Hybrid Approach to Correct the Underestimation of Household Food Waste Self-Assessment Surveys

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063472 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3472

Author(s):

Shahin Ghaziani ◽

Delaram Ghodsi ◽

Gholamreza Dehbozorgi ◽

Shiva Faghih ◽

Yeganeh Rajabpour Ranjbar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Hybrid Approach ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Assessment Method ◽

The Self ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Household Food ◽

Survey Results ◽

Food Commodities

Among the common methods of quantifying household food waste, direct measurement is regarded as infeasible due to its prohibitive costs, and self-assessment methods tend to underestimate the actual values. This paper aims to propose a methodological approach to reach a compromise between feasibility and accuracy. Bread was studied, since it is a relatable example. The self-assessment method was used to survey 419 households in Shiraz, Iran, during 2019 to estimate household bread waste (BW) and to identify waste-causing consumption recipes (WCCR). These WCCRs were replicated in the lab, and the resulting BW was measured. The underestimation in the self-assessment method was revealed by comparing the survey results with the lab measurements. The underestimation ratio (UR) ranged between 1.24 and 1.80. The pattern of difference between these four bread types was similar among the survey and lab data. In conclusion, the lab measurements may estimate BW caused by the WCCRs more accurately. This suggests that URs can be applied to correct the underestimation in self-assessment surveys. Such an approach could provide the basis for further research on the development of cost-effective methods to quantify waste across a variety of food commodities.

Download Full-text

‘I can’t just go up to a person to ask what’s going on.’ How Dutch urbanites’ accounts of non-engagement enhance our understanding of urban care

Urban Studies ◽

10.1177/0042098021997013 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 004209802199701

Author(s):

Laurine Blonk ◽

Margo Trappenburg ◽

Femmianne Bredewold

Keyword(s):

The Netherlands ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Social Interactions ◽

State Policies ◽

Small Scale ◽

Urban Residents ◽

Care Needs ◽

Policy Debates ◽

The Face ◽

The Hague

In the context of increasing appeals to informal care in Western welfare state policies, questions concerning urban sociality acquire new significance. This paper aims to contribute to the emergent thinking on ‘urban care’ by situating it in policy debates concerning care responsibilities between citizens. We used small-scale focus groups among urban residents in The Hague (the Netherlands) to inquire into the accounts urbanites give of engaging or not engaging with perceived care needs of a stranger. Informed by Goffman’s ‘civil inattention’, we found that accounts of non-engagement highlight urbanites’ orientation towards maintaining friendly social interactions in the face of strange or worrisome situations. Urbanites feel that they should respect people’s choices even if these might hurt them. They fear that interference might be humiliating and they attribute to themselves the task of sticking to normality, while family members, friends or professionals might take on the task to intervene. This careful non-engagement, contrasted with long-standing accounts of urban indifference, enhances our understanding of urban care.

Download Full-text

COVID-19-Related Changes in Perceived Household Food Waste in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18031104 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 1104

Author(s):

Kelly Cosgrove ◽

Maricarmen Vizcaino ◽

Christopher Wharton

Keyword(s):

Logistic Regression ◽

Food Waste ◽

The United States ◽

Food Groups ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Household Level ◽

Binomial Logistic Regression ◽

Household Food ◽

Fresh Vegetables

Food waste contributes to adverse environmental and economic outcomes, and substantial food waste occurs at the household level in the US. This study explored perceived household food waste changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and related factors. A total of 946 survey responses from primary household food purchasers were analyzed. Demographic, COVID-19-related household change, and household food waste data were collected in October 2020. Wilcoxon signed-rank was used to assess differences in perceived food waste. A hierarchical binomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine whether COVID-19-related lifestyle disruptions and food-related behavior changes increased the likelihood of household food waste. A binomial logistic regression was conducted to explore the contribution of different food groups to the likelihood of increased food waste. Perceived food waste, assessed as the estimated percent of food wasted, decreased significantly during the pandemic (z = −7.47, p < 0.001). Food stockpiling was identified as a predictor of increased overall food waste during the pandemic, and wasting fresh vegetables and frozen foods increased the odds of increased food waste. The results indicate the need to provide education and resources related to food stockpiling and the management of specific food groups during periods of disruption to reduce food waste.

Download Full-text

The Challenges of Intersectionality in the Lives of Older Adults Living in Rural Areas with Limited Financial Resources

Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine ◽

10.1177/23337214211009363 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 233372142110093

Author(s):

Adrienne Cohen

Keyword(s):

Focus Groups ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Financial Resources ◽

Policy Recommendations ◽

Community Members ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Study Population ◽

Southern Georgia ◽

Multiplicative Effects ◽

Limit Access

The objective of this study was to use intersectionality to better understand the challenges of having the combined statuses of being an older adult, living in a rural area and having limited financial resources. Eight focus groups and 38 individual interviews were conducted in southern Georgia. Participants included program participants and staff, community members, and community leaders. Thematic analysis was done using verbatim transcripts from focus groups and interviews. Results demonstrate that the multiplicative and intersecting statuses of the study population create challenges in the areas of transportation, health care, food, and housing. The challenges of these intersectional statuses limit access to services in ways that each individual status did not, thereby compounding challenges. While previous literature describes the challenges of one or two of these statuses, this work explores the multiplicative effects of the combination of the three statuses using intersectionality. Programmatic and policy recommendations and implications are discussed.

Download Full-text

Intention to Purchase Active and Intelligent Packaging to Reduce Household Food Waste: Evidence from Italian Consumers

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084486 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4486

Author(s):

Antonella Cammarelle ◽

Rosaria Viscecchia ◽

Francesco Bimbo

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Behavioral Control ◽

Equation Model ◽

Perceived Behavioral Control ◽

Intelligent Packaging ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Household Food ◽

Willingness To Purchase

Innovations in food packaging, such as active and intelligent ones, improve food safety and lower household food waste by extending product shelf life and providing information about food quality, respectively. The consumer adoption of such innovations could contribute to reaching one of the Sustainable Development Goals which calls for halving the per capita global food waste by 2030. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the consumers’ willingness to purchase active and intelligent packaging to reduce household food waste using a sample of 260 Italian consumers and a modified Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model. Using a structural equation model, findings show that respondents are more willing to purchase intelligent packaging rather than active packaging to reduce their wastes at home. Finally, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, awareness, and planning routines are the most important drivers of the intention to reduce household food waste.

Download Full-text