Food diversity and aging well in a multicultural city: Japanese Canadian (Nikkei) seniors and community congregate dining

Project Title

_{Food diversity and aging well in a multicultural city: Japanese Canadian (Nikkei) seniors and Community Congregate Dining}

Researchers

_{Principal Investigator: Dr. Yukari Seko}

_{Research Collaborator: Dr. James Tiessen}

_{Research Coordinator: Veen Wong}

_{Research Assistant: Rayna Adachi}

_{Partner Organization: Momiji Health Care Society (2023-2024)}

Funder

_{Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grant (2023-2024)}

Research Question

_{This project aims to explore Community Congregate Dining (CCD) for Japanese Canadian (Nikkei) seniors in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) by systemically documenting its historical evolution, characteristics, user needs, barriers, and supports to service implementations, and potential opportunities to enhance the well-being of Nikkei seniors through culturally appropriate food.}

_{The research explores the following questions:}

_{1) How has the CCD program been designed and operated?}

_{2) What motivates Nikkei seniors to participate in the CCD?} 

_{3) How do Nikkei seniors of different generations and immigration histories experience the CCD program?}

_{4) What meanings do seniors ascribe to Japanese food?}

Methodology

_{The study employs an exploratory mixed-methods case study combining:}

_{1) Narrative interviews with CCD participants (Nikkei seniors), program coordinators, and volunteers;}

_{2) Participatory observations at six CCD locations;}

_{3) Record analysis (e.g., annual budget, CCD program manual, multi-sector service accountability agreement with Ontario Health).}

Background

_{The need for culturally appropriate care provision is becoming vital in supporting older adults age well at home and in the community. Among resources that support healthy aging, congregate dining that lets seniors eat together in a social setting can be an excellent strategy to promote healthy eating and psychosocial well-being. However, existing research in North America focuses predominantly on congregate dining for elders from dominant ethnocultural backgrounds.}

_{Momiji Health Care Society (MHCS), a non-profit organization in Scarborough, Ontario, serves seniors primarily of Japanese descent (Nikkei) through supportive housing and various community programs. Officially launched in 2011, MHCS’s Community Congregate Dining (CCD) is a popular program that provides community dwelling Nikkei seniors, particularly first-generation immigrants, with unique socialization opportunities over affordable Japanese meals. Nikkei seniors comprise a small, dispersed ethnocultural minority group due to the tragic history of wartime internment and the postwar geographical dispersals, as well as individualized immigration patterns. This characteristic makes the MHCS’s CCD an ideal case to explore grassroots support for dispersed ethnocultural minority seniors – a group that often faces health inequity and disparities.}

Preliminary Findings

_{From October 2023 to May 2024, the research team interviewed a total of 61 stakeholders comprising: 45 CCD participants (average age: 79.9 years), 1 family member, and 15 MHCS staff, volunteers, and food suppliers. They also conducted participant observations at six CCD sites across the GTA, visiting each location twice. Culturally satisfying food provides not only nourishment but also comfort, social engagement, and a sense of belonging to Nikkei seniors, regardless of their length of stay in Canada and linguistic preferences. Along with Japanese meals, the CCD provides educational and socializing opportunities and entertainments that create an atmosphere of “Japaneseness” connecting different members of the Nikkei community.}

_{However, with the growing popularity of the CCD program, participants’ needs have been diverging, demanding a reassessment of the program’s scope and operation. Particularly the expectations of the Japanese-born clients, the program’s original target, differ from those of the Canadian-born participants. Further, not all Nikkei seniors who may benefit from the CCD can join the program due to their lack of access to the venues, financial and other barriers. We generated 5 recommendations and shared them with the MHCS.}

Keywords

_{Congregate community dining; aging; Japanese Canadian; culturally appropriate food}