Life stories of food agency, health, and resilience in a rapidly gentrifying urban centre: Building a multidimensional concept of food access

Few studies examine how geographic and non-geographic elements of food access intersect. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the relationship between food access, food security, health, and gentrification in the rapidly gentrifying urban centre of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 low-income, longtime residents of Kitchener-Waterloo, and five key informants in the region. This study complicates concepts of food access that focus on density or proximity of (un)healthy food outlets and illustrates the complex decision-making processes of residents in procuring healthy, affordable, and appropriate foods. Race, equity, and food justice-based analysis also illuminate the disproportionate effects of gentrification on racialized residents, who face barriers to obtaining culturally-appropriate foods. These findings expand food access research by showing how individuals creatively cope with and adapt to changes within their food environments. To achieve a multidimensional concept of food access under conditions of gentrification, it is important to build an understanding of individuals' diverse priorities, adaptation strategies, motivations, and behaviours related to food procurement within the context of structural barriers to food security (including urban development practices and social assistance benefit levels). By supporting residents’ food agency and food justice in gentrifying cities, it might be possible to develop more effective interventions to support food security and health.