Nutritional social work: What it is and why it matters

Abstract

Summary This article introduces the area of nutritional social work, beyond the scope of food security and food injustice, from a critical, anti-oppressive and ecofeminist lens. The goal was not to present concrete frameworks but to initiate a discussion surrounding the relevance of nutritional social work and point in a number of possible directions for incorporation of this subdiscipline into social work praxis. Findings Nutritional security is an instrumental component of food security, as complete nutrition requires more than just enough energy for every human being. This purposeful combining of food security with nutrition security underscores the need to consider these two issues together, requiring integrated social and health outcomes, as well as cohesive community, policy and development goals aimed at eliminating food insecurity and malnutrition. These considerations need to involve the questions of availability, accessibility (both economically and geographically), cultural practices and sustainability that form the cornerstone of food justice efforts. Applications The article highlights the potential contribution of nutritional social work to direct practice, community action, policy development, research and social work education, as it illuminates the pivotal role that nutritional security plays in relation to multilevel considerations of food insecurity, all the while ensuring all people, through participatory, democratizing, power-sharing and equity-creating processes, have access to nutritious foods.