Research Methodology
How do individuals at Covenant Soup Kitchen experience food insecurity?
Methods:
- Semi-structured interviews
- Focus group
- Received input on interview and focus group questions from one of the women that runs the soup kitchen
What questions did we ask?
Individual interview questions:
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What brought you here today?
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How long have you been going to a soup kitchen/food pantry?
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What is it like to have food insecurities?
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Does knowing that you can come to the soup kitchen help ease your mind?
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Do you think it’s harder for you to get access to healthier food?
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Is there anything else that you would like me to know?
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Focus group questions:
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What are some reasons that people go to soup kitchens?
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What are some misconceptions about food insecurity?
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What are some misconceptions about people experiencing food insecurity?
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Do you know of any other resources that help increase access to food?
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Do you think it’s enough?
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Should anything else be done?
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Is there anything else that you would like us to know?
*Interview lengths ranged from 3 minutes to 23 minutes*
*Names used below are psuedonyms*
Who did we interview?*
Sonya: homeless refugee from Sudan, migrated to Egypt then Arizona, arrived in Connecticut in 2016
James: ex-convict, paints houses, enjoys the sense of community of Willimantic, CT
Darryl: enjoys visiting Covenant to socialize
Rob: long-time visitor of Covenant
Sally: owner of 6 dogs, lives alone, loves to read, but only with background noise
Tony: actively seeking employment and likes to help out at Covenant
Jerry: born in New Britain, CT, lives with his daughter and takes care of his grandchildren
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*click on name to jump to their story*
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Focus group: 3 individuals who enjoy visiting Covenant
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Sonya
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Sonya is a Sudanese refugee that left Sudan when she was 9 years old with her grandmother. Her entire town was destroyed and she lost her family in Sudan. She stayed in a refugee camp in Cairo, Egypt from age 9 to 18 when caseworkers in Egypt set her up with a refugee claim and settled her in Arizona in 2007. She came to CT in 2016, but unfortunately lost all of her identification records which includes her I.D., social security card, and green card. Sonya suffers from PTSD which makes it difficult for her to work, go to school, or be around people.
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Sonya currently receives state assistance of $219 a month. She feels blessed she is able to have enough food to eat, especially at Covenant Soup Kitchen. She feels she has a lot of support from the soup kitchen.
“I’m blessed you know I can’t complain.”
"The soup kitchen is really good you know but there's a lot of people that are out there that really don't know what the people on the inside are going through."
"I don't have an apartment, all the income I get is from the state, I can eat here. They give me a laundry voucher, they give me food."
" Here, I can always get enough food."
"I don't have family but I'm trying to make my own family even if it's people from the soup kitchen."
James
"I‘ve been coming here since I was a kid, this place has been here all my life."
"It’s very lonely and very scary to be stuck."
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James has been coming to Covenant since he was a child (about 10 years old) with his parents. He is now 42 years old and has been coming here on and off his whole life. Covenant is a safe place to him that provides him with a good meal and also helps accommodate him with other things. He loves his community and feels like Covenant is an important part of the community that doesn’t discriminate people and welcomes everyone.
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James is an ex-convict and has struggled with drugs throughout his life. He is now living in low-income housing and receives food stamps. He believes that the system constantly fails him and others like him and that it doesn’t provide enough support and keeps denying him assistance for more resources. He wishes that there were programs to help people with issues like his to help people get back on their feet to motivate them to seek change within their lives instead of being stuck the way they are.
"How many hours can you really work if you take a 2-hour bus to work and have to take the same bus back home?"
"I want to get back to work but there is no work in this town...and with my criminal record, unfortunately, I can’t get a 9 to 5 job."
"I’ve been trying to search for resources because I’m trying to change but it’s hard without those resources."
Darryl
“I would consider myself pretty blessed."
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Darryl has been coming to Covenant off and on for about 10 years and still visits every now and then to grab a meal and socialize with his friends. He receives SNAP benefits and notes using strategies such as stacking up on vegetables one month, meats another, and condiments the next to keep his fridge and pantry full while complying with strict SNAP regulations. He feels blessed that he is able to eat enough and does not feel like he suffers from food insecurity.
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He appreciates that Covenant helps those who really need assistance like families with children and doesn’t come here often because he doesn’t want to take up another plate when others may need it more than him. He also appreciates the group of UConn students who come to teach people nutritional facts.
“I believe that these places are generally for people that can really use the assistance and I don’t want to be taking up a plate from children or a family.”
“One thing I’ve noticed, you have to be very strategic with the SNAP benefits.”
"I come here just for the camaraderie sometimes.”
Rob
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Rob has been coming to Covenant since 1998 and occasionally volunteers. He enjoys that programs that Covenant that give out vouchers for services like free laundry or a mailbox if you don’t have an address. He believes that Covenant is a good place that helps out its community.
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Rob mentions that he always has access to food and does not experience food insecurity. It’s easy for him to always have food since he has access to Covenant.
“The soup kitchen is a good place.”
Sally
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Sally lives alone, but raises 6 dogs. She likes to read, but only with background noise. She has been coming to Covenant for about 6 years and describes that the people, including herself, that visit Covenant are very “colorful” people. She feels that she does not experience food insecurity.
“There’s a million places to eat for free in this town. So that’s up to me. If I’m hungry, that’s my own fault.”
Tony
"I have seven applications out. Every Friday I call them to check up on my applications.”
“I have SNAP. That saves my life.”
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Tony has been coming to Covenant for about 7 or 8 years and his main concern right now is to find employment. He currently receives SNAP assistance and feels that food access isn’t really a problem for him. He feels that the people that come to Covenant are like his family.
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He experiences a lot of discrimination from not working since common misconceptions are that people who visit the soup kitchen are lazy.
“My mental health caught up with me later in life ."
“I worked three times as hard being homeless than I did living at a house.”
“I was not homeless until I was 35.”
Jerry
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Jerry visits Covenant a few times a week to see what’s going on and socializes with his friends. He has been coming here for the past 20 years. He lost his home last year, so he currently resides with his daughter and watches over his grandchild. He feels that he does not really need to come to Covenant for meals and does not feel food insecure. Rather, he mainly comes as a way to get out of the house.
“I’ve been coming here for close to 20 years. I’ve been out here since 2000.”
“Basically I just come down to see how people are doing and catch up with people.”
“Last summer I lost my place so I was coming here for meals.”
FOCUS GROUP
What are some reasons that people
go to soup kitchens?
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“Loss"
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“Lot of people are homeless"
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“Camaraderie”
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warm place to get a meal
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Easily accessible
What are some misconceptions about people who experience food insecurity?
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“Big misconception is that we’re not motivated, and we can’t work...but a lot of times it’s hard to get to work, especially if you walk or take a bike or something.”
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“It’s not uncommon for people to miss a bus and therefore miss a meal.”
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“There’s a lack of opportunity for work in this community... especially if you have a record.”
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It's very hard for people to get where they need to go because there's not enough public transportation
Do you know of any other resources that help increase access to food?
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SNAP, WIC, Salvation Army, Foodbanks, Generations, Shelters, CHR (Mental Health Clinic), Perceptions, Inc.
Do you think it's enough?
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“I don’t think it’s enough. I think they need to do more in the line of the people that are homeless to get them inside as fast as possible and not wait so long to have someplace warm and dry and safe and secure to stay.”
Is there anything else you think would be helpful in order to lead healthier lives?
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"The medical field is failing... the medical field can actually get involved and say you know what, we owe you a case-worker, this is something that’s health management and now we’re involved."
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A centralized process and location to get all of the social support tools in one place.
Is there anything else that you would like us to know?
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“You’re stuck in the system and there’s no way to override that or express that to people who are supposed to make it go away."
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“This open door policy becomes a recycling bin.”
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“There’s nothing in this area where you can actually make a living wage. You gotta be able to make $18 or up in order to actually get out of poverty.”