Rural and Community Development Program, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Rafic Hariri School of Nursing, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
PLoS One. 2019 Jan 25;14(1):e0210814. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210814. eCollection 2019.
Community kitchens (CKs) have been recommended as public health strategies with social and nutritional health benefits for low-income participants and their families in different settings. The benefit of CKs in improving the food security status of participants in the context of conflict and displacement is less conclusive. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the impact of CKs on the food security status of community kitchen workers (CWs) and Syrian refugee (SR) families in Lebanon. An exploratory qualitative descriptive approach was adopted. Focus group discussions were conducted with 15 CWs and 49 SRs, and transcripts were analyzed thematically. Emerging themes included: motivation to join the CKs (CWs only), perception towards CKs, impact of these CKs, and their sustainability (both groups). Motivating factors for CWs included financial, internal and societal drivers, and the favorable type of work in kitchens. The perception towards CKs was overall positive among CWs and SR beneficiaries. Both groups reported the positive impact of CKs on their food security and financial status, which in turn affected positively their psychological health. At the social level, CWs indicated that the kitchen's friendly atmosphere increased social cohesion and companionship between Syrians and Lebanese within the kitchen. In addition, CWs reported increased sense of empathy towards SRs benefiting from the CK services. According to study participants, the positive impact of the CKs was almost completely reversed when their operation and services were interrupted for two months. Both CWs and SRs identified facilitators and barriers that can affect the sustainability of the kitchens, including financial and entrepreneurial skills. In conclusion, findings from this study highlight that CKs can be promising programs to improve the food security and livelihoods of participants, while also increasing social cohesion and integration of refugees within host communities in protracted crisis contexts.
社区厨房（CKs）已被推荐为公共卫生策略，对不同环境中低收入参与者及其家庭具有社会和营养健康益处。CKs 在改善冲突和流离失所背景下参与者的粮食安全状况方面的益处则不那么明确。本研究旨在从定性角度探讨 CKs 对黎巴嫩社区厨房工作者（CWs）和叙利亚难民（SR）家庭粮食安全状况的影响。采用探索性定性描述方法。对 15 名 CWs 和 49 名 SR 进行了焦点小组讨论，并对记录进行了主题分析。出现的主题包括：加入 CKs 的动机（仅 CWs）、对 CKs 的看法、这些 CKs 的影响以及它们的可持续性（两组）。CWs 的动机包括财务、内部和社会驱动力，以及厨房中有利的工作类型。CWs 和 SR 受益人对 CKs 的总体看法是积极的。两组人都报告说 CKs 对他们的粮食安全和财务状况有积极影响，这反过来又对他们的心理健康产生了积极影响。在社会层面上，CWs 表示厨房友好的氛围增加了叙利亚人和黎巴嫩人之间的社会凝聚力和友谊。此外，CWs 还报告说，他们对受益于 CK 服务的 SR 产生了更多的同理心。根据研究参与者的说法，当 CK 的运营和服务中断两个月时，其积极影响几乎完全逆转。CWs 和 SR 都确定了可能影响厨房可持续性的促进因素和障碍，包括财务和创业技能。总之，本研究的结果表明，CKs 可能是改善参与者粮食安全和生计的有前途的方案，同时还可以增强难民在长期危机背景下融入收容社区的社会凝聚力和融合度。
