On September 24 from 2:30 to 4:00 pm ET, Dr. Yukari Seko will present “Flavours of Home: Cultural Meal Provision through Ontario’s Meals on Wheels Programs.” Hosted by Dr. Erica Di Ruggiero, this hybrid event is part of the Care Economies in Context Speaker Series.
Abstract
Food security in later life is a complex phenomenon shaped by multiple socioeconomic and cultural factors. As Canada’s older adult population becomes increasingly diverse, ensuring they can access food with dignity and comfort is essential to advancing equitable aging in place. This mixed-methods study examined cultural meal offerings through Meals on Wheels (MOW) programs across Ontario, Canada. Beginning with ethnographic case studies of two MOW programs in Toronto that serve Chinese and kosher meals, Dr. Seko’s team developed and conducted a province-wide survey with 63 MOW programs. The findings reveal systemic challenges related to outsourced meal preparation, heavy reliance on volunteer delivery, and limited capacity to proactively respond to Ontario’s growing cultural diversity. The findings also highlight the need for sustainable delivery infrastructure, stronger partnerships between MOWs and culturally specialized food providers, nutritional guidelines and policy frameworks for home-delivered meals for older adults, and greater conceptual clarity regarding cultural food security.
Biographies
Yukari Seko
Yukari Seko is Associate Professor in the School of Professional Communication and Director of the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Toronto Metropolitan University. She teaches critical health communication to unpack how power and culture shape health messages. Yukari’s current research focuses on the interrelationship between institutional foodways and lived experiences of migration, identity, and belonging, where everyday food practices take on broader political significance. From “lunchbox shaming” among school children of Asian backgrounds, to congregate community dinings for immigrant seniors, to cultural Meals on Wheels, her research examines how institutional foodways shape people’s access to affordable and culturally appropriate food throughout the life course.
Erica Di Ruggiero
Erica Di Ruggiero is the Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, and Director of the Centre for Global Health and Director of the Collaborative Specialization in Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH). She is Associate Professor of Global Health in the Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences and holds cross-appointments as Associate Professor in the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, and the Department of Health & Society (UTSC). Erica is also a member of the Care Economies in Context project and co-leads the Caring Across Generations project.