Efficacité organisationnelle d’organismes communautaires en sécurité alimentaire situés en milieux ruraux, semi-urbains et urbains au Québec
Background. Food insecurity affects 11% of households in Québec. This problem is partially relieved by community food programs and food pantry assistance. These food security community organizations (FSCOs) operate with insufficient and unstable human, financial and material resources. To adjust supply with increasing demand, they must limit either: the number of households served, the quantity of the food offered or the quality of the assistance. In the face of these constraints, are FPs effectively accomplishing their mission? No model assessing FPs’ organizational effectiveness (OE) exists. Many ways of doing so exists, yet only a few studies in urban settings have documented FSCOs operations. Objective. This exploratory study aims to propose a model that associates capacities with measures of OE, defined by a multidimensional approach. This study also aims to compare operations of FSCOs located in four Quebec regions. Methods. We draw on data from a preliminary phone survey of the PATHWAYS STUDY: Asking for food aid, and then?. Between November 2017 and June 2018, respondents from 141 FSCOs were surveyed to provide in-depth description of their operations. The sample included 64 FD (food donation organizations) and 77 FD+ (FD organizations that included other food capacity-building activities), located in urban (n=60), semiurban (n=43) and rural (n=38) settings. Three dimensions of FSCOs’ OE, for a total of five measures, were analyzed: service volume (annual number of households), quality of hampers (diversity and monetary value) and quality of assistance (frequency of FD and access limitations). Associations with these capacities were tested: presence of employees, online publication of strategic documents, collaboration with private food suppliers, user implication in committees, and FP settings and program type. Results. FD+ organizations seemed overall more developed without necessarily providing food to more households. For all FSCOs, when the number of households requesting assistance was lower, the quality of the offered food was higher in variety. Collaborating with private food suppliers, publishing strategic documents online, presence of employees and being located in rural settings were capacities positively associated with OE. Discussion. Beyond the number of households served, other measures of OE need to be considered to assess FSCOs. Our model provides some guidance to assess their OE and identifies best practices. More research is needed to validate our model.
food insecurity, food security community organizations, organizational effectiveness, food donations, Canada Canada Food insecurity Food security community organizations Organizational effectiveness Food donations