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Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table

Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table Stigma is often encountered by recipients who receive food donations from charities, while the consumption of wasted food, also traditionally considered to be a stigmatized practice, has recently become part of a popular food rescue movement that seeks to reduce environmental impacts. These two stigmas—charitable donation and the consumption of waste—are brought together at the Open Table, a community group in Melbourne, Australia, that serves community meals cooked from surplus food. This paper examines how Open Table de-stigmatizes food donations through food waste discourse to enable greater social inclusion. I draw on the experiences of donors, cooks, volunteers and eaters gathered from diverse Open Table sites. Taking a ‘follow-the-thing’ approach, I analyze how food ‘waste’ becomes re-valued by embracing goals of environmental justice enacted through local processes of care and conviviality. Relying on networks of volunteers and not-for-profit agen- cies, Open Table provides a simple, effective and adaptable model for possible replication for overcoming drawbacks of traditional charity practices. Critically though, as hunger in society continues to grow, this approach is increasingly threat- ened by the need to ‘single out’ disadvantaged recipients to justify continued supply. This paper contributes to food poverty, waste, and Alternative Food Network literature in two important ways: first, by analyzing the outcomes of community food redistribution approaches with regards to stigma and inclusion; and secondly, by arguing that such holistic approaches need to be acknowledged, valued and supported to shift current discourses and practice. Keywords Food rescue · Food sharing · Donation · Charity · Care · Alternative food network Abbreviation embedded resources of water and nutrients, and fuels for AFN Alternative food network transportation and retail, are wasted along the food chain (Baker et al. 2009). This global food waste crisis is inher- ently political as its growth parallels a rise in hunger: Food- Introduction bank Australia recently reported (2019) that the number of Australians seeking food relief had increased by 22% in the Food waste has become a global issue in recent decades. last year. Rather than blame the victims, Gidwani and Reddy Gustavsson et al. (2011) estimate that approximately one- (2011, p. 1625) acknowledge waste as “the political other of third of edible food produced for human consumption is capitalist ‘value’ … the things, places and lives that are cast wasted globally every year. In Australia, householders’ outside the pale of ‘value’ at particular moments as super- discarded $AUD five billion worth of food in 2009, where fluity, remnant, excess, or detritus”. This paper explores how both ‘othered’ produce and people are being re-valued through the creation of spaces of alternative consumption, * Ferne Edwards conviviality and identity formation. ferne.edwards@ntnu.no Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, Food surplus redistribution Australia Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Since the early 2000′s in Australia, there has been a grow- Ireland ing movement to redistribute food from waste to donate Department of Design, Norwegian University of Science to people in need. Open Table exists along a contiuum of and Technology (NTNU), Kolbjørn Hejes Vei 2b, surplus redistributors in Melbourne motivated primarily by 7491 Trondheim, Norway Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 398 F. Edwards environmental factors. These protagonists include ‘freegans’, stigma as reducing an individual “from a whole and usual people who choose to eat still-edible, yet discarded food person to a tainted, discounted one”, resulting in aliena- as a protest against overconsumption while others go hun- tion, shame, self-hate and self-derogation. Food banks are gry (Edwards and Mercer 2007). This provocative declara- acknowledged as frequent sources of social stigma which, tion of food waste as an ethical and environmental problem while emergency food supplies may meet some immediate emerged alongside the rise of Australia’s food rescue sector needs of the poor, can undermine peoples’ rights, entitle- with FareShare (then One Umbrella) established as Aus- ments and cultural basis of support (Kirkpatrick and Tarasuk tralia’s first food rescue organization in 2000. FareShare is 2009; Poppendieck 1999; van der Horst et al. 2014; Purdam now joined by two other large rescue organizations, Sec- et al. 2016). Food banks tend to propagate asymmetric rela- ondBite and OzHarvest, with their presence recognized in tionships of gifting where those who have “the right (and all Australian states. is empowered) to give” (Askins 2015, p. 472) can cause Australia’s food waste movement occurred alongside an recipients to feel disempowered and marginalized when they emergence of a global food waste movement and Alterna- are “constructed as needing care” (Askins 2015, p. 472). tive Food Networks (AFNs) in general, a variety of often By experiencing a loss of sense of self, attendees may in community-led initiatives that seek to provide alternatives turn reject services and skip meals, further promulgating to the conventional food system based on industrial, large- hunger and social isolation. As a consequence, many food scale, mono-cultural and for-profit production by favoring relief agencies seek to employ strategies to provide assis- local, socially just and environmentally sustainable solu- tance with dignity. To achieve this aim, hidden connections tions (Jarosz 2008). In Australia this expansion extended between care, space and power should be made visible and into policy, where Good Samaritan laws were established questioned (Askins 2015; Darling 2011). to protect retailers from redistributing donated produce, through to more recent digital platform applications that Defining care capture and redistribute food from waste. Politicized redis- tributive surplus programs have a historical legacy, where Care extends from the individual to include collective and examples include the San Francisco Diggers, Black Panther non-human actors as an “activity that includes everything Party, and Food Not Bombs, all frame food as a human right we do to maintain, contain, and repair our ‘world’ so that we transforming the redistribution of ‘free food’ from a “pacify- can live in it as well as possible” (Fisher and Tronto 1990, ing to revolutionary” act (Patel 2011, p. 125; also Heynen p. 40). Care, while often ignored in policy (Stensöta 2015), 2009; Spring et al. 2019). underpins much practice, where it can hurt as well as help, However, AFNs have, in turn, been criticized due to their can be expressed from afar or up close, and can convey an predominance towards exclusivity, racism and elitism, in ethics of who or what should be cared for, and in doing so, addition to confusing conflation of AFN types and character - can channel and validate value and power. Definitions of istics, and the continued impact that the capitalist market has care are thus varied, with their sources requiring unpicking on their goals (Alkon and McCullen 2011; Edwards 2016; to unsettle their political implications. This paper draws on Goodman et al. 2011; Guthman 2008; Harris 2009; Slocum Tronto’s (1993) expressions of care—‘caring about’, ‘taking 2007; Tregear 2011). This imbalance between desire, need care of’, ‘care-giving’, ‘care-receiving’ and ‘caring with’— and access is expressed by Hodgins and Fraser (2018) who to explore the dynamics of AFNs, focusing on redistributive describe the food system as being ‘multi-tiered’ consisting of food sharing. ‘the haves’, ‘the have-nots’ and the ‘have-lots’, acknowledg- This paper unites AFN and care literature to examine how ing how the middle-class can participate in AFNs by being sharing food waste in a care-full way can displace and coun- able to “vote with their fork” (Hodgins and Fraser 2018, ter stigma from charitable donation. The research focuses p. 150). Furthermore, the redistribution of waste does not on Open Table, a not-for-profit community group based in simply resolve complex issues of waste and hunger. Indeed, Melbourne, Australia, that redistributes food from waste to such good intentions can perpetuate harm if the motivations the broader community at the shared table. Their website behind such actions are not considered (Guthman 2008). in 2016 stated their goals as: “Open Table is based on two key ideas—reducing food waste and meeting the neighbours. The stigma of ‘free food’ We use surplus food to create wholesome community feasts, bringing together people from all walks of life”. Seemingly This paper began from a conversation where I sought to nd fi a subtle shift from other approaches, I argue that by bring- initiatives that donate free food for all. I realised that in order ing pertinent issues of waste, hunger, and the environment to receive free meals that people often must identify as dis- together on a societal, rather than individual level, that advantaged, and that by doing so, charity can reinforce social stigma is displaced by revaluing both the meal and those stigma. Goffman (1963, p. 3) describes the categorization of who consume it. This paper examines value making through 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 399 a ‘follow-the-thing’ approach to reveal the physical, mate- 2018). This approach recognises the “relationalities of food, rial, emotional geographies that emerge over a composite space and place” (Goodman 2016, p. 258), while welcoming day for Open Table. the “dynamic, diverse and unexpected” (Sharp 2018, p. 271) towards “imagining and practising food differently” (Sharp 2018, p. 266). Methodology and methods Qualitative research was conducted in Melbourne, Aus- tralia, from September through to December 2016, comple- This paper borrows a ‘follow-the-thing’ approach (Cook mented by a follow up visit in December 2018. Data collec- et al. 2004) to acknowledge the connections, relationships tion included: participant observation at thirteen events at and values that are formed along the physical route from the seven venues (see Table 1); three long semi-structured inter- collection of ingredients, to assembling the meal, to being views with Open Table’s General Manager, the Vice Presi- seated at the shared Open Table. This ‘more-than-food’ dent (who is also highly involved in FareShare, a large food approach likens an Open Table feast as one among many rescue organization in Australia) and a representative from events as assemblage of care practices (Edwards and Davies the donor organization, SecondBite; three short, on-the-spot Table 1 Characteristics of Open Table venues Location and description of site Characteristic of attendees The first Open Table event established c. 2012, the Brunswick Open All ages attend from local lodges that provide accommodation and Table is held 6 km from the Melbourne CBD. Traditionally a working assistance for people who do not have the ability or capacity to live class area, it now has a bohemian culture with a large student popula- independently. It has a strong volunteer group who have been consist- tion. It is currently experiencing gentrification ently overseeing the event for years The Fitzroy Open Table was the second event established in c. 2012, A high number of elderly Asian people attend from the nearby flats: held 3 km from the CBD in Fitzroy, a cultural hub known for its “I think we are connecting with people more through established music, art, food and shops. Previously working class, Fitzroy has community centres, and established community groups. In Fitzroy experienced much urban renewal and gentrification with correspond- for example we have a lot of the Chinese women that come. They all ing high rents. The Open Table is held in a room at the bottom of the do ballroom dancing at the adjacent centre, and they come over after Atherton Gardens Estate, a large public housing complex. The venue they’ve done their dancing” (Open Table General Manager) sits beside a community garden and co-houses many cultural food activities (Wray and Christensen 2014) The Fawkner Open Table was established in 2013 and is situated 12 km There are children everywhere, it is quite noisy, the queue gets long, from the Melbourne CBD. Fawkner has a large elderly population and and the two rooms fit approximately 50 people. “There’s lots of new immigrant population, with Italians being the largest ethnic group, arrivals in Fawkner and so therefore really low incomes as well. followed by Pakistani and Lebanese (ABS 2016). The Open Table is Maybe one spouse working; large families. So lots of food insecu- held in the Senior Citizen Centre rity” (Open Table local coordinator) The Carlton Open Table, established in 2016, is held 2 kms from the Attendance is diverse and includes backpackers, residents from the CBD. It is a wealthier region with medium- to high-density housing, nearby flats, and students who attend language classes. People who consisting of public housing complexes, student and private dwell- attend often volunteer both in the on-site community garden and at ings. The Open Table feast is held at the Carlton Neighbourhood the Open Table meal Learning Centre, a community managed not-for-profit organisation that offers a range of community courses The Coburg Open Table was established in 2016 and is 9 kms from the Many regular attendees to the Neighbourhood House join the lunch. CBD in a culturally diverse area where 62.1% of people were born The Neighbourhood House Coordinator explains: “a lot of people in Australia. The most common ethnicities are from Italy, Greece, that come to Robinson Reserve have really severe anxiety so for them Lebanon, England and Nepal (ABS 2016). The Open Table feast is to be in a room with thirty people is terrifying. So to learn how to do held at Robinson Reserve Neighbourhood House, an incorporated, that is a skill in itself” not-for-profit organization that aims to reduce social isolation and promote community cohesion The North Coburg Open Table was established also in 2016, 11 kms The site was still building its community having held only three events north of the CBD. The Open Table event is held at Newlands Road at the time of the research (2016). Attendance averaged twenty Neighbourhood House. Highly residential, it is characterized by people including many young families and elderly people who live weatherboard houses and industrial activities nearby The Richmond Open Table was established in early 2017 and is 3 kms The local coordinator explains: “I know there are a lot of commission east of the CBD. The suburb is known for its factory outlets along housing around that area, also a lot of cultural disconnect or just Bridge Road, Little Saigon along Victoria Street, and its illicit drug community disconnect, a lot of transient communities and a lot of dealing. The suburb has undergone gentrification since the 1990s and crime in the past. And now I think it is changing a little, but because now is home to converted warehouses, public housing and Victorian- of that volunteering that I saw that I thought, well, this would be a era terrace houses. The Open Table event is held at the Belgium great place to have Open Table.” Avenue Neighbourhood House 1 3 400 F. Edwards interviews with local venue Open Table Coordinators and We want to create a welcoming and inclusive environ- staff from shops that donated goods; and an intensive focus ment. We don’t want to have any agenda for getting group with two local venue Open Table Coordinators and the people together rather than just eating food. It is about Open Table General Manager. Participant observation and sustainability, but that’s more of an undertone. We informal conversations were preferred methods for partici- don’t preach that, we don’t want to make people feel pants with disabilities, elderly or from CALD backgrounds. excluded if they are not environmentally conscious. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically We don’t want to exclude people that are not food inse- coded using the software program, NVIVO. Coding noted cure, we want to include everyone together. … We try the types of relations between initiatives, their histories, adamantly to refrain from being a soup kitchen, or operations, motivations and activities. Contributing to a from serving people. We also sit down and have lunch larger study on urban food sharing (Edwards and Davies together which is important to us. 2018; Davies 2019), twenty-six interviews were conducted Open Table serve one community meal each month at with representatives from local and state governments in each venue. The seven Open Table venues are located pre- food health, safety and planning, umbrella food sharing dominantly in Melbourne’s north where Table 1 shows their networks, academia, community organizations, and from diverse characteristics as they have developed over time. other local food sharing and waste case initiatives. Analysis Factors that influence their site selection include: funding involved triangulating data from these diverse perspectives support and resource availability, the possibility to be placed across the coded themes whilst reflecting on the author’s in pre-existing community hubs, and locations are selected experiences at each field site. The diverse sample of stake- for being in food insecure areas (by locating feasts in dis- holders provided a holistic understanding of Open Table’s advantaged areas, the opportunity to provide services for practices and an overview of the issues and influences people-in-need are increased). Sharing their kitchens, dining informing food sharing in Melbourne. halls, and when available, community gardens, these sites vary in longevity, and in their degree of community ties, local ownership, cultural diversity, and community outreach. For this latter point, ranging from regular participants in Introducing Open Table community centers, to bringing in new participants from the local area. In 2016 Open Table was supported by two Open Table began in 2013 by graduate students in Mel- local councils “which pays for the running of those events, bourne, Australia, who were inspired by a Swedish food so transportation, groceries, we have some account keeping sharing project. Returning home from their travels, they fees” and earned additional funds through catering. Table 1 started a 6-week pilot program in a Community House to below shows different characteristics for each venue. As provide free meals. Open Table’s General Manager explains: explained by the Open Table General Manager: “We run on That was one dinner every week on a Sunday evening, basically no money because everything else is donated. My and there were maybe six people that were involved… time is mostly donated and voluntary, I get paid on a part- It started out with food coming from FareShare. They time basis for administration through other private funding were donating cooked food … the project was more ventures we have done, through catering, crowdsourcing”. about community cohesion at that point, so they were In 2016 Open Table had one paid staff member (the getting in people from some of the Lodges in the area. General Manager), a board of advisors, and local venue coordinators for each Open Table site. The General Man- In 2016 Open Table had become a not-for-profit incor - ager established relationships with community centres that porated association community program that cooks meals included Neighbourhood Houses and Senior Citizen Cen- in shared kitchens at Neighbourhood Houses and Senior tres with kitchens and who often provide one staff member Citizen Centres from ingredients donated from SecondBite, to help promote the events, coordinate volunteers and pre- a large food rescue, not-for-profit organisation, and local pare meals. Volunteers provide the mainstay of their sup- businesses. Their key goal was conviviality rather than food port. Volunteers are not vetted or trained but join by simply security, with a strong focus on overcoming social isolation. showing up. The General Manager remarks that: “Volunteers The meal signifies to a great extent an excuse to bring people seem to be, pretty easy to retain and recruit because it is a together—a key concern when at least 10% of Victoria’s pretty fine way to volunteer your time. It’s very creative, you older population experience loneliness (Commissioner for get to meet a lot of new people, and you get some free food.” Senior Victorians 2016), and when indigenous, culturally During the research period, Open Table had approximately and linguistically diverse, and socially isolated people often thirty regular volunteers while many casual volunteers experience a high rate of food insecurity in Australia (Rosier attended one to two events. Volunteers represent a range 2011). As explained by Open Table’s General Manager: 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 401 of ages, socio-economic positions and life experiences who buy their own food from the supermarket. (SecondBite may be part of the local community, travellers, the disad- spokesperson) vantaged, students, or new arrivals to the area. This diverse SecondBite recognise that the statement ‘people in need’ social identity complicates often assumed notions of “the is subjective. They further explain: ‘white, middle class’ volunteer who is privileged to give” requiring careful examination about the details behind the Our role is to work out that the charities that we are politics of encounter (Askins 2015, p. 473). After demon- supporting are doing all the right things and they are strating consistent interest and reliability, the General Man- supporting people we believe are in need, but at the ager may offer volunteers to lead their own community feast end of the day they [the charities] are making that call. depending upon the availability of venues and resources. … We are logistics. We are collecting the food. We are The next section describes a typical day for an Open Table giving it out to the agencies, not to people. (Second- event and the layering of care that is ascribed through the Bite spokesperson) preparation of the meal. In this respect, due to their size and dual purpose, Open Table die ff rs to other charities in being able to receive dona - tions without having to categorize—and hence discrimi- nate—their attendees as ‘in need’. Likewise, Open Table Follow‑the‑food: a composite day are also eligible to receive produce from small food retail- at the Open Table ers being protected by the Good Samaritan law, a state law that protects retailers from possible recrimination, while Collecting the ingredients their small size enables them to collect food from a variety of retailers. Hence care is taken by SecondBite to source SecondBite, a large food rescue organization that redistrib- healthy food for those in need, while Open Table takes utes surplus fresh food donated by farmers, wholesalers, additional care to build goodwill with suppliers receiving markets, supermarkets, caterers and events to community gourmet donations from florists, bakeries and organic goods. food programs around Australia, is the first collection point Open Table’s small size means they can sustain themselves for an average Open Table day. Founded in 2005, Second- on smaller quantities of food donations, enabling them to Bite now operates in the eastern Australian states of Vic- anchor within local communities, such as local stores and toria, Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales. In related food sharing activities. The Open Table General 2013 SecondBite rescued and redistributed over four mil- Manager describes this as a food sharing culture: lion kilograms of primarily fresh fruit and vegetables to approximately one thousand providers (SecondBite 2013). It’s about sharing things as a group […] which brings SecondBite collects from hundreds of major Australian people together whether they know it or not. Some supermarkets, manufacturers and wholesale producers people come and they don’t know what to expect. And receiving a variety of prepared and fresh goods including: think it’s going to be intimidating where they are going “… Simplot who do prepared meals, a bit more pastas and to have to get up and speak in front of people and meet sauces. Montagues apples who have not just apples but also a bunch of new people. But you can kind of do what stone fruit” (SecondBite spokesperson). you want. You can come with a takeaway container SecondBite provides the bulk of ingredients for Open and leave, or sit down and chat for an hour. Table’s community feasts. Rather than accept any surplus As a result, Open Table’s feasts are often healthy and food, SecondBite commits to redistributing 95% nutritious nutritious. By providing healthy meals, Open Table is able to food, as defined by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating overcome the stigma of consuming bad quality food as “sec- (Australian Government 2017), and 75% fresh fruit and veg- ond class food for second class people” (Schneider 2013, p. etables. While this produce may be nearing its best-before 761). This fresh, and mainly vegan, food has the additional date, it is still edible with its ‘ugly’ appearance hidden by advantage of lowering the risk of food contamination as preparation and cooking. explained by Open Table’s Vice President: SecondBite’s donation criteria includes the need to “sup- port programmes, not individuals” where: For them if you donate to a place, and it’s not just us— there are many community meals programs around—if … at least a majority who access the food need to be you donate to them and they cook it on the premises, people in need, and we are very on board with inclu- in registered food premises that are designed for that sion and people feeling part of a group and having it as who have people with food safety certificates working in a social occasion. So as long as it’s not more than 30% them, a lot of the risk is gone. And of course that doesn’t of people accessing the food could actually go out and matter a fig for rice, pasta, fresh fruit and veg. So say like 1 3 402 F. Edwards SecondBite, they distribute mainly fresh fruit and veg, centre kitchen. This act of contributing, if they are needy or their risk is minimal. not, promotes a cyclical form of dignity as “when people engage in dignity work intended to promote others’ dignity, Furthermore, by fostering relationships with luxury health they often find that their own dignity is enhanced as well” food stores, eaters dine on a range of high quality ingredients (Jacobson 2012, p. 151). Importantly, there is no judgement that expand their dietary diversity, reminding them they are or expectation for eaters to participate in the meal prepara- ‘worth it’. This valuing of diners beyond basic provisioning is tion, while alternatively everyone is welcome to suggest and symbolized by the addition of normally expensive flowers as cook dishes for the shared menu. A key job for the local table dressings. These flowers, like other ingredients, have lost venue coordinator is to find something for everyone to do, their economic value outside of the marketplace yet through should they wish to participate. Both low-skilled contribu- care-full collection and presentation assert value. Gourmet edi- tions to encourage participation, or support to skill up are ble additions emphasise that feasts are special events, deserv- on offer, as explained by Open Table’s General Manager: ing effort, and should be celebrated. As part of a global food rescue movement, Open Table’s So we do have a lot of people that will help in their ingredients are also sustainably coded extending care to an own way, sweeping ‘or doing the dishes. And then environmental, more-than-human arena, where key tenants there’s some people who really want to help out with include deep connections, reciprocity, and moral commit- cooking, who have limited cooking skills. Particular ments between nonhumans and humans (Whyte and Cuomo in Brunswick, we have a lot of people in supported 2016). Sharp (2020) drawing on Puig de la Bellacasa (2011) housing nearby to help us. But maybe we just get them highlights the need to carefully consider the views of often peeling fruit or helping the table decorations or things neglected actors and their relationships to animate and inani- like that. mate others. In so doing, care in food scholarship has the There is no ‘right’ way to make a dish as people respond potential to expand into many aspects, values and approaches. to the haphazard ingredients at hand. The process of sorting Regarding Open Table’s produce, aspects of care are consid- jumbled produce at different stages of deterioration from ered in the many attributes of sustainable sourcing that include the boxes, combined with its preparation, elicits demonstra- the logistical companies, vendors, farmer owners and labour- tions of skills and stories, embedding personal, material and ers and environmental resources of energy, water, phosphate, experiential values into the anticipated feast. Most people agro-chemicals and fuel. ask what needs to be done, grab a knife and start chopping, Nguyen et  al. (2014) analyse how freegan’s behaviour while others peel, stir, bake, clean, arrange flowers and set becomes symbolic of reverse stigma: consumers are no longer the table. Simple tasks grant an easy access point for people considered to be cultural dupes succumbing to market-driven to participate, especially important for those who are shy or forces of material consumption but instead actively contest unsure. For example, a frequent attendee is an elderly Italian the paradox of hunger versus waste. The emergence of formal gentlemen who participates at three venues (many people food waste organizations and businesses have converted the only attend one) who chooses not to design meals but only to re-use of ‘waste’ into a respectable, and even fashionable, act. chop, cut, grate, pluck, stir and sauté for others. This kitchen By preventing food from going to waste, eaters are not only camaraderie resonates with a feminist ethics of care that personally benefiting from free meals but also contribute to is based on interconnection and relationality (Askins 2015; environmental sustainability—beyond themselves and beyond Beasley and Bacchi 2005; Lawson 2007) where participants the meal—by reducing demand for further waste and pollution. are learning a capacity to care through watching interac- Healthy, gourmet, culturally appropriate, site-specific and tions by others. Opening opportunities for connections to be sustainably-coded ingredients represent the first steps to re- made, assembling the meal is guided by an understanding valuing discarded produce and championing the people who that “people need each other in order to lead a good life and consume it. Through this process of selection, collection and that they can only exist as individuals through and via car- by placing local consumption as part of a global environmen- ing relationships with others” (Sevenhuijsen 2003, p. 183). tal movement, the meal takes on social and environmental This exchange of roles blurs power relationships where “a “regimes of value” (Appadurai 1986, p. 4). This layering of donor transforms his or her status in the relationship from values through practices of care displaces echoes of stigma to the dominant to the generous” (Hattori 2001, p. 640). reframe the meal from threat of famine to feast. Kitchens vary in autonomy with some volunteers choos- ing to acquire more leadership over time. For example, vol- Assembling the meal unteers at the Brunswick site have participated for more than 4 years resulting in little need for support from the Open Everyone—coordinators, volunteers and eaters—is welcome Table General Manager. This duration has enabled a strong to arrive early to help prepare the meal in the community bond between attendees and volunteer chefs to develop. 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 403 I think that a lot of people really enjoy the communal sharing and asserting her skills, said that she would return aspect. And I think the guys who come to Brunswick, to join future activities. that have been coming since the very first week. They have taken a lot of ownership over the events. They all know all the dates … and who’s going to be there. A seat at the table (Open Table General Manager) Finally, the meal is served. The author’s field notes describe Alternatively at the Fawkner site, a new arrival to Aus- a typical Open Table feast: tralia started making Pakistani food to share. Her chicken biryani quickly became extremely popular, attracting When I arrived, dinner was at least halfway prepared, donors who supplied specialist ingredients to ensure the with salads and bits and pieces chopped and being used dish remained on the menu. The volunteer chef’s confi- for this and that. It was all quite random with people dence in her cooking grew through volunteering where just creatively doing what they could with the ingredi- she has since taken on similar roles in the broader asylum ents on hand. (…) There were the normal dishes nicely seeker and refugee community. Hence, care to not only done – a fruit salad sprinkled with pomegranates, kiwi facilitate entry to the meal but to also grant flexibility for fruit and mint, a salsa salad finished off with lemon, a skilling up, to take on new responsibilities, and for reci- broccoli dish, some sautéed Chinese greens. procity within and across roles are essential factors for Open Table respects their eaters’ specific needs. While empowering volunteers to grow their own sense of self Open Table generally serves vegan meals due to food safety whilst also sustaining volunteer-dependent initiatives. factors, depending upon the preferences of attendees, meat Offering the kitchen as a shared, equitable space pro- and dairy may also be served on occassion. For example, vides another possibility for social inclusion and dignity as there is high multi-cultural attendance at the Fawkner as many people feel safer in the familiar kitchen than in venue, Open Table also offer halal meals, and even sepa- the open dining space (Martin 2017). Ahmed (2000, p. rate dining rooms for the women and children. As explained 279–280) recognizes that “collectives are formed through by a volunteer local coordinator: “Yes, we do always share the very work that we need to do in order to get closer to something that will meet every criteria. We get a lot of veg- others”. Here the kitchen becomes a shared space of con- etarians, vegans”. Another local coordinator states: “So stant gentle negotiations as participants offer help and pro- it’s about catering for your community and being cultur- vide instruction, chipping away at the boundaries between ally appropriate”. This consideration evokes what Spring giver and receiver (Askins 2015). An Italian grandmother et al. (2019), drawing on Hayes-Conroy and Hayes-Conroy who is a new arrival to the Coburg Open Table offers a (2013) and Hayes-Conroy (2017), refer to as ‘visceral food good example, as recorded in the author’s field notes: access’ where Open Table acknowledges that attendees have S. tells us that she has cooked all her life and does “specific bodily histories and prior and current affective/ not want to cook! But she remains within the kitchen emotional relations with alternative foods” (Hayes-Conroy to watch us work and as I begin to cook the pasta, and Hayes-Conroy, p. 82) that “comingle with embodied she says that I have no idea how to do it! It needs sensations of food handling and eating to (re)shape visceral salt! Salt! Oil – put oil in! You must stir it! Time it! access, body–food relationships and encounters” (Spring Test it! Test it with the sauce! Her input is relentless. et  al. 2019, p. 845). To make participants feel comforta- I start to tease her a little, in a good way, and her ble they both invite them to prepare, and prepare for them, response is to further torment me with instructions! specific foods that are healthy, enjoyable and suitable for Both our efforts finally pay off as she pronounces the their backgrounds. This eclectic meal not only follows bod- pasta a success and when I go to leave, she blows me ies’ needs but also acknowledges “experiences of social a kiss and asks if I’ll be back. position(ing), norms and difference” (Hayes-Conroy 2017, p. 51). A flexibility to accept ingredients to mark special Bedore (2018, p. 220) speaks of how dignity is ascribed moments is also appreciated, such as the gold coins and through “a person’s enjoyment of having status, rank Christmas cake illustrated in Fig. 1. or being of ‘merit’ compared with others. It is through Open Table volunteers often take care to invite local peo- individual or collective ‘dignity work’ that people work ple to attend the meal by walking to nearby public spaces, to rescue, repair or promote their own dignity, in either doing a letterbox drop, and knocking on neighbors’ doors. affirmative or defensive ways”. The Italian grandmother’s This strategy is effective and essential for people who are knowledge of how to produce good spaghetti symbolises socially or physically isolated or for whom social media affirmative dignity work. From being initially nervous, does not reach. The North Coburg Open Table is one such she was comfortable to enter via the kitchen, which, after example where Open Table volunteers door-knocked a 1 3 404 F. Edwards Fig. 1 Selection of donated food and flowers for Open Table events 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 405 nearby housing complex to personally invite elderly people groups and rife with tensions over different ways of ‘doing’ to participate. and ‘being’ in shared space” (Valentine 2008, p. 328). The Each venue appeals to different attendees (see Table  1 Fawkner Open Table exemplie fi s this aspect where an initial above). Like the meal’s ingredients, attendance is unfixed, clash of cultures, personal identities, expectations and under- dynamic and sporadic—sometimes many people will attend, standings had to be negotiated over time. The Open Table at other times, only a few. Participants’ often reflect a mix of local coordinator explains this emergence: motivations, ages and backgrounds. Open Table is adaptive So we’ve had to slowly slowly build our relationship to social difference where people are not forced to integrate with the locals and welcome newly arrived migrants with each other. Choice is important as not everyone can into that community as well. … I think Fawkner is tolerate the same degree of social interaction. For exam- probably a great success story on that front, given ple, one lady at Coburg was too shy to eat with others so that we have bridged the gap between a lot of Muslim she eats her lunch in the quiet kitchen, while at Fitzroy a migrants and a lot of traditional people that have been homeless man shows up regularly before the meal to receive living there their whole lives with Catholic and Ital- a take-away container packed with food to go on his way. ian backgrounds. So we have to keep in mind different For those who chose to stay, eaters sat either together or culturally appropriate food. So it has to be Halal, but apart. Dining tables may be arranged as one large table, as at the same time we have to offer Italian type dishes as a series of tables placed from end-to-end, or as clusters of well to keep people happy. grouped tables. While not demanding people to sit together, Open Table offers an opportunity for diverse people to share Care is grounded in practice by responding to specific a physical space in a safe, respectful, joyful and well-fed needs (Tronto 1993). The successful outcome acknowl- atmosphere. Here too no judgment is made — people have edged cultural dietary and spatial needs, providing a separate the option to stay, sit and eat together or to grab food and room for Muslim women to eat together with their children. go. This adaptability allows people to maintain their dig- Indeed, this integration of cultures became more complex nity where: “To be dignified or have dignity is first to be in due to the volunteer chef’s enthusiasm for Pakistani cuisine, control of oneself, competently and appropriately exercising inviting more Pakistani guests to attend (often women with one’s power” (Sayer 2007, p. 568). Rather than restrict or their children). Rather than forcing people to eat the same judge an individual, Open Table’s focus remains on care for meal or to share their lunch at the same table, flexibility the individual, the environment, and on the meal itself. One within a safe, tolerant space allowed people to express their amusing incident occurred at the Carlton Open Table where identities. This event evolved from this volunteer’s dishes a very large group of elderly Asian people entered the dining merely satisfying both groups to celebrating difference room, grabbed take-away containers, took a majority of the across cultures. While racism may not be resolved in the food that had been carefully prepared, and then immedi- suburb, Open Table granted a safe space for people to dine ately departed. Rather than be upset, the General Manager together where they could start conversations to understand was happy that the food was appreciated and was no longer each other’s diverse backgrounds. going to waste. With regards to being exclusive and elitist, caution needs to be taken at the Open Table to ensure that both chefs and eaters’ needs, interests and experiences are equitably consid- Discussion ered. The Richmond Open Table provides an example where a new volunteer venue coordinator assembled an enthusiastic The monthly Open Table feast illustrates the layers and itera- and talented team of cooks, all from outside the region. This tions of care that come together to de-stigmatize food dona- team purchased exotic ingredients to heighten flavours, and tion. While Open Table is largely a successful case study, while they produced a delicious gourmet lunch, little effort here I apply criticisms of AFNs to Open Table’s experiences. was made to engage residents in meal preparation result- ing in scant local attendance. This situation was remedied Criticisms of alternative food networks by the General Manager who walked the neighbourhood to personally invite locals to attend the meal. Hence, the proxi- First, AFNs are often criticized for tending towards racism, mate relationality of care must be maintained to continue exclusivity and elitism. For example, Valentine (2008, p. relevance, and thus ensure the success of the shared feast. 334) recognizes that “proximity does not equate with mean- Another common criticism is the capitalist market’s ingful contact”. In other words, by putting people together dominance on AFN goals. While food waste initiatives you cannot claim they will be happily ‘integrated’. Indeed, are becoming increasingly popular around the world, so Valentine argues that there are “many examples of socially too do they rely on waste and other resources produced by mixed neighbourhoods that are territorialized by particular capitalism to exist. Open Table is no exception where they 1 3 406 F. Edwards depend on food waste, other institutions and volunteers to and communities. Many opportunities and some tensions survive. Open Table’s Vice President expressed this con- emerge from their existing ‘in-between’ traditional approaches cern, commenting: “One of the things I want them to get and roles: Open Table seek to be more than a soup kitchen yet is DGR [Deductible Gift Recipients are organisations that still convey this function, while bringing together participants can receive donations that are tax deductible] because you whose interests vary from preparing good food, to combat- cannot apply for a lot of grants without it”. Hence, Open ting food waste, to feeding the socially marginalized. So too Table is not self-sustainable and must seek new strategies to does their size allow them to act as an intermediary between ensure their longevity. One threat for Open Table is that, as large food rescue operations and charity food donation models, urban hunger increases, donors may soon begin insisting on whose large-scale or single-purpose approach prevents them classifying which attendees are in need, hence re-enforcing from taking advantage of such opportunities. By being com- stigmatization. Open Table’s Vice President explains: plementary, rather than competitive, Open Table is also cared for by other agencies: “They [FareShare] are kind of mentor- So you’ve got levels … So ‘A’ is emergency food ing us in a sense. … [FareShare’s Operations Manager] she’s relief. Then if there is any left over I am happy to give kind of taken our project on as her own … personal interest in it to people who are doing community building, train- getting us to be sustainable”. ing and the like ... If need gets too high and people are Occupying this constantly negotiated space that is based not getting enough food to eat then the obvious thing foremost on social relationships, Open Table represents an for me to do is cut out funding, giving free food to alternative form of food bank following Cloke et al. (2017) that those other programs. exists ‘in the meantime’; disrupting conventional boundaries between giver and receiver, need and want, and acceptance and Blurring boundaries to displace stigma resistance to the status quo. With these events largely acces- sible seeking to be inclusive, open, and non-judgmental, Open Open Table’s ability to blur boundaries and to exist ‘in- Table’s feasts have become representative of ‘micro-publics’ between’ enables them to overcome stigma through de- (Amin 2002), events of organized group activities where classification and care. Care is performed throughout Open diverse eaters can come together “to break out of fixed pat- Table’s operations. Drawing on Tronto (1993), Open Table’s terns of interaction and learn new ways of being and relating” founders and donors ‘care about’ societal issues of hunger (Valentine 2008, p. 331). Such disruption based on dialogue and loneliness and environmental concerns of food waste, and gentle contestation allows change to occur. where Open Table along with the support of Neighbour- These interactions become politically transformative as they hood Houses and others come together to ‘take care of’ re-play across different venues to carve out new communities these issues by committing to providing an ongoing ser- (Askins 2015). Open Table’s venues act as important ‘third vice. However, definitions of care ‘giving’ and ‘receiving’ places’, defined by Oldenburg (1999, p. 16) as “public places become blurred where roles are exchanged and diluted in the that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily antici- Open Table kitchen, where personal stigma is displaced by pated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home all being welcome to ‘care with’ or ‘care for’ global issues of and work”. Becoming ‘second homes’ through the building environmental concern through re-valuing food from waste. of social relationships, such shared third places also become While creating a space for difference, Open Table seeks political as they push back gentric fi ation in defence of margin - to close physical, social and symbolic gaps. This space “for alized people who are losing accessible social spaces (Olden- self-care and care for others” (Bedore 2018, p. 226) gains burg 2000). capacity through sharing actions and produce to enable So it’s kind of addressing the issues surrounding gentri- alternative forms of consumption to persist. Embedding an fication, with splitting between the communities. Mel- environmental ethics through consuming food waste—as an bourne … is very much about community. And each overt practice or not—transforms relationships from charity suburb had its own kind of little subculture or micro- to care (Darling 2011). Belonging as ‘longing to be’ (Probyn environment which we are losing now because of gen- 1996) is reflected by participants’ regular return, where the trification and the housing process. (Open Table General community feast becomes a yearning for social attachment, Manager) to feel part of a larger whole to others through place, con- vivial ritual and food. Suggestions for future research Care as a disruptive force for change Future research could interrogate the gendered role of care in food redistribution practices, the ethics of care practices in Open Table employs an adaptive model that allows for novel community, versus state and corporate-based organizations, connections to be made between local agencies, spaces, stores 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 407 and how food surplus redistribution could be better sustained important connectors across society that support not only within capitalist-centric food systems. So too could different food security, but also social inclusion, dignity and envi- lenses be explored for their potential to displace individual ronmental benefits. stigma towards positive action to address global issues, such Acknowledgements The data collection for this research was funded as linking to food justice solidarity movements. By bringing by the European Research Council as part of the SHARECITY project care more centrally within AFN literature complemented at Trinity College Dublin, Grant Agreement Number: 646883. by employing methodologies that listen to hidden and mar- ginalised animate and inanimate perspectives, more holistic Funding Open Access funding provided by NTNU Norwegian Univer- understandings of contemporary food systems can be pro- sity of Science and Technology (incl. St. Olavs Hospital - Trondheim University Hospital). duced to identify better junctures of, and motivations for, care-full change. So too could research into complemen- Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri- tary activities investigate how such care-full moments can bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta- be both spatially and temporally extended from the table tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, and from the monthly meal to remain within the community provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes between courses. Open Table reveals connections between were made. The images or other third party material in this article are care and space, where future research could interrogate included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated how political-economic structures showcase or blind trans- otherwise in a credit line to the material. 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The “dark side” of tion in community food programs among low-income Toronto food banks? Exploring emotional responses of food bank receivers families. Canadian Journal of Public Health 100: 135–139. in the Netherlands. British Food Journal 116: 1506–1520. 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 409 Whyte, K.P., and C. Cuomo. 2016. Ethics of caring in environmental Ferne Edwards Ferne Edwards is Postdoctoral Fellow in Socially and ethics: Indigenous and feminist philosophies. In The Oxford hand- Environmentally Just Transitions, Department of Design, Norwegian book of environmental ethics, ed. S.M. Gardiner and A. Thomp- University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway. Previously son, 234–247. New York: Oxford University Press. Research Fellow, RMIT University Centre for Urban Research (Aus- Wray, N., and P. Christensen. 2014. Fitzroy Community Food Centre tralia) and Work Package Lead of the EU EdiCitNet project at RMIT project plan. Melbourne: Cultivating Community. Europe (Spain), Ferne is a cultural anthropologist researching urban natures, edible cities, waste, beekeeping, and food sharing. Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. 1 3 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Agriculture and Human Values Springer Journals

Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table

Edwards, Ferne
Agriculture and Human Values , Volume 38 (2) – Nov 9, 2020
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10.1007/s10460-020-10176-9
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Abstract

Stigma is often encountered by recipients who receive food donations from charities, while the consumption of wasted food, also traditionally considered to be a stigmatized practice, has recently become part of a popular food rescue movement that seeks to reduce environmental impacts. These two stigmas—charitable donation and the consumption of waste—are brought together at the Open Table, a community group in Melbourne, Australia, that serves community meals cooked from surplus food. This paper examines how Open Table de-stigmatizes food donations through food waste discourse to enable greater social inclusion. I draw on the experiences of donors, cooks, volunteers and eaters gathered from diverse Open Table sites. Taking a ‘follow-the-thing’ approach, I analyze how food ‘waste’ becomes re-valued by embracing goals of environmental justice enacted through local processes of care and conviviality. Relying on networks of volunteers and not-for-profit agen- cies, Open Table provides a simple, effective and adaptable model for possible replication for overcoming drawbacks of traditional charity practices. Critically though, as hunger in society continues to grow, this approach is increasingly threat- ened by the need to ‘single out’ disadvantaged recipients to justify continued supply. This paper contributes to food poverty, waste, and Alternative Food Network literature in two important ways: first, by analyzing the outcomes of community food redistribution approaches with regards to stigma and inclusion; and secondly, by arguing that such holistic approaches need to be acknowledged, valued and supported to shift current discourses and practice. Keywords Food rescue · Food sharing · Donation · Charity · Care · Alternative food network Abbreviation embedded resources of water and nutrients, and fuels for AFN Alternative food network transportation and retail, are wasted along the food chain (Baker et al. 2009). This global food waste crisis is inher- ently political as its growth parallels a rise in hunger: Food- Introduction bank Australia recently reported (2019) that the number of Australians seeking food relief had increased by 22% in the Food waste has become a global issue in recent decades. last year. Rather than blame the victims, Gidwani and Reddy Gustavsson et al. (2011) estimate that approximately one- (2011, p. 1625) acknowledge waste as “the political other of third of edible food produced for human consumption is capitalist ‘value’ … the things, places and lives that are cast wasted globally every year. In Australia, householders’ outside the pale of ‘value’ at particular moments as super- discarded $AUD five billion worth of food in 2009, where fluity, remnant, excess, or detritus”. This paper explores how both ‘othered’ produce and people are being re-valued through the creation of spaces of alternative consumption, * Ferne Edwards conviviality and identity formation. ferne.edwards@ntnu.no Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, Food surplus redistribution Australia Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Since the early 2000′s in Australia, there has been a grow- Ireland ing movement to redistribute food from waste to donate Department of Design, Norwegian University of Science to people in need. Open Table exists along a contiuum of and Technology (NTNU), Kolbjørn Hejes Vei 2b, surplus redistributors in Melbourne motivated primarily by 7491 Trondheim, Norway Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 398 F. Edwards environmental factors. These protagonists include ‘freegans’, stigma as reducing an individual “from a whole and usual people who choose to eat still-edible, yet discarded food person to a tainted, discounted one”, resulting in aliena- as a protest against overconsumption while others go hun- tion, shame, self-hate and self-derogation. Food banks are gry (Edwards and Mercer 2007). This provocative declara- acknowledged as frequent sources of social stigma which, tion of food waste as an ethical and environmental problem while emergency food supplies may meet some immediate emerged alongside the rise of Australia’s food rescue sector needs of the poor, can undermine peoples’ rights, entitle- with FareShare (then One Umbrella) established as Aus- ments and cultural basis of support (Kirkpatrick and Tarasuk tralia’s first food rescue organization in 2000. FareShare is 2009; Poppendieck 1999; van der Horst et al. 2014; Purdam now joined by two other large rescue organizations, Sec- et al. 2016). Food banks tend to propagate asymmetric rela- ondBite and OzHarvest, with their presence recognized in tionships of gifting where those who have “the right (and all Australian states. is empowered) to give” (Askins 2015, p. 472) can cause Australia’s food waste movement occurred alongside an recipients to feel disempowered and marginalized when they emergence of a global food waste movement and Alterna- are “constructed as needing care” (Askins 2015, p. 472). tive Food Networks (AFNs) in general, a variety of often By experiencing a loss of sense of self, attendees may in community-led initiatives that seek to provide alternatives turn reject services and skip meals, further promulgating to the conventional food system based on industrial, large- hunger and social isolation. As a consequence, many food scale, mono-cultural and for-profit production by favoring relief agencies seek to employ strategies to provide assis- local, socially just and environmentally sustainable solu- tance with dignity. To achieve this aim, hidden connections tions (Jarosz 2008). In Australia this expansion extended between care, space and power should be made visible and into policy, where Good Samaritan laws were established questioned (Askins 2015; Darling 2011). to protect retailers from redistributing donated produce, through to more recent digital platform applications that Defining care capture and redistribute food from waste. Politicized redis- tributive surplus programs have a historical legacy, where Care extends from the individual to include collective and examples include the San Francisco Diggers, Black Panther non-human actors as an “activity that includes everything Party, and Food Not Bombs, all frame food as a human right we do to maintain, contain, and repair our ‘world’ so that we transforming the redistribution of ‘free food’ from a “pacify- can live in it as well as possible” (Fisher and Tronto 1990, ing to revolutionary” act (Patel 2011, p. 125; also Heynen p. 40). Care, while often ignored in policy (Stensöta 2015), 2009; Spring et al. 2019). underpins much practice, where it can hurt as well as help, However, AFNs have, in turn, been criticized due to their can be expressed from afar or up close, and can convey an predominance towards exclusivity, racism and elitism, in ethics of who or what should be cared for, and in doing so, addition to confusing conflation of AFN types and character - can channel and validate value and power. Definitions of istics, and the continued impact that the capitalist market has care are thus varied, with their sources requiring unpicking on their goals (Alkon and McCullen 2011; Edwards 2016; to unsettle their political implications. This paper draws on Goodman et al. 2011; Guthman 2008; Harris 2009; Slocum Tronto’s (1993) expressions of care—‘caring about’, ‘taking 2007; Tregear 2011). This imbalance between desire, need care of’, ‘care-giving’, ‘care-receiving’ and ‘caring with’— and access is expressed by Hodgins and Fraser (2018) who to explore the dynamics of AFNs, focusing on redistributive describe the food system as being ‘multi-tiered’ consisting of food sharing. ‘the haves’, ‘the have-nots’ and the ‘have-lots’, acknowledg- This paper unites AFN and care literature to examine how ing how the middle-class can participate in AFNs by being sharing food waste in a care-full way can displace and coun- able to “vote with their fork” (Hodgins and Fraser 2018, ter stigma from charitable donation. The research focuses p. 150). Furthermore, the redistribution of waste does not on Open Table, a not-for-profit community group based in simply resolve complex issues of waste and hunger. Indeed, Melbourne, Australia, that redistributes food from waste to such good intentions can perpetuate harm if the motivations the broader community at the shared table. Their website behind such actions are not considered (Guthman 2008). in 2016 stated their goals as: “Open Table is based on two key ideas—reducing food waste and meeting the neighbours. The stigma of ‘free food’ We use surplus food to create wholesome community feasts, bringing together people from all walks of life”. Seemingly This paper began from a conversation where I sought to nd fi a subtle shift from other approaches, I argue that by bring- initiatives that donate free food for all. I realised that in order ing pertinent issues of waste, hunger, and the environment to receive free meals that people often must identify as dis- together on a societal, rather than individual level, that advantaged, and that by doing so, charity can reinforce social stigma is displaced by revaluing both the meal and those stigma. Goffman (1963, p. 3) describes the categorization of who consume it. This paper examines value making through 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 399 a ‘follow-the-thing’ approach to reveal the physical, mate- 2018). This approach recognises the “relationalities of food, rial, emotional geographies that emerge over a composite space and place” (Goodman 2016, p. 258), while welcoming day for Open Table. the “dynamic, diverse and unexpected” (Sharp 2018, p. 271) towards “imagining and practising food differently” (Sharp 2018, p. 266). Methodology and methods Qualitative research was conducted in Melbourne, Aus- tralia, from September through to December 2016, comple- This paper borrows a ‘follow-the-thing’ approach (Cook mented by a follow up visit in December 2018. Data collec- et al. 2004) to acknowledge the connections, relationships tion included: participant observation at thirteen events at and values that are formed along the physical route from the seven venues (see Table 1); three long semi-structured inter- collection of ingredients, to assembling the meal, to being views with Open Table’s General Manager, the Vice Presi- seated at the shared Open Table. This ‘more-than-food’ dent (who is also highly involved in FareShare, a large food approach likens an Open Table feast as one among many rescue organization in Australia) and a representative from events as assemblage of care practices (Edwards and Davies the donor organization, SecondBite; three short, on-the-spot Table 1 Characteristics of Open Table venues Location and description of site Characteristic of attendees The first Open Table event established c. 2012, the Brunswick Open All ages attend from local lodges that provide accommodation and Table is held 6 km from the Melbourne CBD. Traditionally a working assistance for people who do not have the ability or capacity to live class area, it now has a bohemian culture with a large student popula- independently. It has a strong volunteer group who have been consist- tion. It is currently experiencing gentrification ently overseeing the event for years The Fitzroy Open Table was the second event established in c. 2012, A high number of elderly Asian people attend from the nearby flats: held 3 km from the CBD in Fitzroy, a cultural hub known for its “I think we are connecting with people more through established music, art, food and shops. Previously working class, Fitzroy has community centres, and established community groups. In Fitzroy experienced much urban renewal and gentrification with correspond- for example we have a lot of the Chinese women that come. They all ing high rents. The Open Table is held in a room at the bottom of the do ballroom dancing at the adjacent centre, and they come over after Atherton Gardens Estate, a large public housing complex. The venue they’ve done their dancing” (Open Table General Manager) sits beside a community garden and co-houses many cultural food activities (Wray and Christensen 2014) The Fawkner Open Table was established in 2013 and is situated 12 km There are children everywhere, it is quite noisy, the queue gets long, from the Melbourne CBD. Fawkner has a large elderly population and and the two rooms fit approximately 50 people. “There’s lots of new immigrant population, with Italians being the largest ethnic group, arrivals in Fawkner and so therefore really low incomes as well. followed by Pakistani and Lebanese (ABS 2016). The Open Table is Maybe one spouse working; large families. So lots of food insecu- held in the Senior Citizen Centre rity” (Open Table local coordinator) The Carlton Open Table, established in 2016, is held 2 kms from the Attendance is diverse and includes backpackers, residents from the CBD. It is a wealthier region with medium- to high-density housing, nearby flats, and students who attend language classes. People who consisting of public housing complexes, student and private dwell- attend often volunteer both in the on-site community garden and at ings. The Open Table feast is held at the Carlton Neighbourhood the Open Table meal Learning Centre, a community managed not-for-profit organisation that offers a range of community courses The Coburg Open Table was established in 2016 and is 9 kms from the Many regular attendees to the Neighbourhood House join the lunch. CBD in a culturally diverse area where 62.1% of people were born The Neighbourhood House Coordinator explains: “a lot of people in Australia. The most common ethnicities are from Italy, Greece, that come to Robinson Reserve have really severe anxiety so for them Lebanon, England and Nepal (ABS 2016). The Open Table feast is to be in a room with thirty people is terrifying. So to learn how to do held at Robinson Reserve Neighbourhood House, an incorporated, that is a skill in itself” not-for-profit organization that aims to reduce social isolation and promote community cohesion The North Coburg Open Table was established also in 2016, 11 kms The site was still building its community having held only three events north of the CBD. The Open Table event is held at Newlands Road at the time of the research (2016). Attendance averaged twenty Neighbourhood House. Highly residential, it is characterized by people including many young families and elderly people who live weatherboard houses and industrial activities nearby The Richmond Open Table was established in early 2017 and is 3 kms The local coordinator explains: “I know there are a lot of commission east of the CBD. The suburb is known for its factory outlets along housing around that area, also a lot of cultural disconnect or just Bridge Road, Little Saigon along Victoria Street, and its illicit drug community disconnect, a lot of transient communities and a lot of dealing. The suburb has undergone gentrification since the 1990s and crime in the past. And now I think it is changing a little, but because now is home to converted warehouses, public housing and Victorian- of that volunteering that I saw that I thought, well, this would be a era terrace houses. The Open Table event is held at the Belgium great place to have Open Table.” Avenue Neighbourhood House 1 3 400 F. Edwards interviews with local venue Open Table Coordinators and We want to create a welcoming and inclusive environ- staff from shops that donated goods; and an intensive focus ment. We don’t want to have any agenda for getting group with two local venue Open Table Coordinators and the people together rather than just eating food. It is about Open Table General Manager. Participant observation and sustainability, but that’s more of an undertone. We informal conversations were preferred methods for partici- don’t preach that, we don’t want to make people feel pants with disabilities, elderly or from CALD backgrounds. excluded if they are not environmentally conscious. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically We don’t want to exclude people that are not food inse- coded using the software program, NVIVO. Coding noted cure, we want to include everyone together. … We try the types of relations between initiatives, their histories, adamantly to refrain from being a soup kitchen, or operations, motivations and activities. Contributing to a from serving people. We also sit down and have lunch larger study on urban food sharing (Edwards and Davies together which is important to us. 2018; Davies 2019), twenty-six interviews were conducted Open Table serve one community meal each month at with representatives from local and state governments in each venue. The seven Open Table venues are located pre- food health, safety and planning, umbrella food sharing dominantly in Melbourne’s north where Table 1 shows their networks, academia, community organizations, and from diverse characteristics as they have developed over time. other local food sharing and waste case initiatives. Analysis Factors that influence their site selection include: funding involved triangulating data from these diverse perspectives support and resource availability, the possibility to be placed across the coded themes whilst reflecting on the author’s in pre-existing community hubs, and locations are selected experiences at each field site. The diverse sample of stake- for being in food insecure areas (by locating feasts in dis- holders provided a holistic understanding of Open Table’s advantaged areas, the opportunity to provide services for practices and an overview of the issues and influences people-in-need are increased). Sharing their kitchens, dining informing food sharing in Melbourne. halls, and when available, community gardens, these sites vary in longevity, and in their degree of community ties, local ownership, cultural diversity, and community outreach. For this latter point, ranging from regular participants in Introducing Open Table community centers, to bringing in new participants from the local area. In 2016 Open Table was supported by two Open Table began in 2013 by graduate students in Mel- local councils “which pays for the running of those events, bourne, Australia, who were inspired by a Swedish food so transportation, groceries, we have some account keeping sharing project. Returning home from their travels, they fees” and earned additional funds through catering. Table 1 started a 6-week pilot program in a Community House to below shows different characteristics for each venue. As provide free meals. Open Table’s General Manager explains: explained by the Open Table General Manager: “We run on That was one dinner every week on a Sunday evening, basically no money because everything else is donated. My and there were maybe six people that were involved… time is mostly donated and voluntary, I get paid on a part- It started out with food coming from FareShare. They time basis for administration through other private funding were donating cooked food … the project was more ventures we have done, through catering, crowdsourcing”. about community cohesion at that point, so they were In 2016 Open Table had one paid staff member (the getting in people from some of the Lodges in the area. General Manager), a board of advisors, and local venue coordinators for each Open Table site. The General Man- In 2016 Open Table had become a not-for-profit incor - ager established relationships with community centres that porated association community program that cooks meals included Neighbourhood Houses and Senior Citizen Cen- in shared kitchens at Neighbourhood Houses and Senior tres with kitchens and who often provide one staff member Citizen Centres from ingredients donated from SecondBite, to help promote the events, coordinate volunteers and pre- a large food rescue, not-for-profit organisation, and local pare meals. Volunteers provide the mainstay of their sup- businesses. Their key goal was conviviality rather than food port. Volunteers are not vetted or trained but join by simply security, with a strong focus on overcoming social isolation. showing up. The General Manager remarks that: “Volunteers The meal signifies to a great extent an excuse to bring people seem to be, pretty easy to retain and recruit because it is a together—a key concern when at least 10% of Victoria’s pretty fine way to volunteer your time. It’s very creative, you older population experience loneliness (Commissioner for get to meet a lot of new people, and you get some free food.” Senior Victorians 2016), and when indigenous, culturally During the research period, Open Table had approximately and linguistically diverse, and socially isolated people often thirty regular volunteers while many casual volunteers experience a high rate of food insecurity in Australia (Rosier attended one to two events. Volunteers represent a range 2011). As explained by Open Table’s General Manager: 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 401 of ages, socio-economic positions and life experiences who buy their own food from the supermarket. (SecondBite may be part of the local community, travellers, the disad- spokesperson) vantaged, students, or new arrivals to the area. This diverse SecondBite recognise that the statement ‘people in need’ social identity complicates often assumed notions of “the is subjective. They further explain: ‘white, middle class’ volunteer who is privileged to give” requiring careful examination about the details behind the Our role is to work out that the charities that we are politics of encounter (Askins 2015, p. 473). After demon- supporting are doing all the right things and they are strating consistent interest and reliability, the General Man- supporting people we believe are in need, but at the ager may offer volunteers to lead their own community feast end of the day they [the charities] are making that call. depending upon the availability of venues and resources. … We are logistics. We are collecting the food. We are The next section describes a typical day for an Open Table giving it out to the agencies, not to people. (Second- event and the layering of care that is ascribed through the Bite spokesperson) preparation of the meal. In this respect, due to their size and dual purpose, Open Table die ff rs to other charities in being able to receive dona - tions without having to categorize—and hence discrimi- nate—their attendees as ‘in need’. Likewise, Open Table Follow‑the‑food: a composite day are also eligible to receive produce from small food retail- at the Open Table ers being protected by the Good Samaritan law, a state law that protects retailers from possible recrimination, while Collecting the ingredients their small size enables them to collect food from a variety of retailers. Hence care is taken by SecondBite to source SecondBite, a large food rescue organization that redistrib- healthy food for those in need, while Open Table takes utes surplus fresh food donated by farmers, wholesalers, additional care to build goodwill with suppliers receiving markets, supermarkets, caterers and events to community gourmet donations from florists, bakeries and organic goods. food programs around Australia, is the first collection point Open Table’s small size means they can sustain themselves for an average Open Table day. Founded in 2005, Second- on smaller quantities of food donations, enabling them to Bite now operates in the eastern Australian states of Vic- anchor within local communities, such as local stores and toria, Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales. In related food sharing activities. The Open Table General 2013 SecondBite rescued and redistributed over four mil- Manager describes this as a food sharing culture: lion kilograms of primarily fresh fruit and vegetables to approximately one thousand providers (SecondBite 2013). It’s about sharing things as a group […] which brings SecondBite collects from hundreds of major Australian people together whether they know it or not. Some supermarkets, manufacturers and wholesale producers people come and they don’t know what to expect. And receiving a variety of prepared and fresh goods including: think it’s going to be intimidating where they are going “… Simplot who do prepared meals, a bit more pastas and to have to get up and speak in front of people and meet sauces. Montagues apples who have not just apples but also a bunch of new people. But you can kind of do what stone fruit” (SecondBite spokesperson). you want. You can come with a takeaway container SecondBite provides the bulk of ingredients for Open and leave, or sit down and chat for an hour. Table’s community feasts. Rather than accept any surplus As a result, Open Table’s feasts are often healthy and food, SecondBite commits to redistributing 95% nutritious nutritious. By providing healthy meals, Open Table is able to food, as defined by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating overcome the stigma of consuming bad quality food as “sec- (Australian Government 2017), and 75% fresh fruit and veg- ond class food for second class people” (Schneider 2013, p. etables. While this produce may be nearing its best-before 761). This fresh, and mainly vegan, food has the additional date, it is still edible with its ‘ugly’ appearance hidden by advantage of lowering the risk of food contamination as preparation and cooking. explained by Open Table’s Vice President: SecondBite’s donation criteria includes the need to “sup- port programmes, not individuals” where: For them if you donate to a place, and it’s not just us— there are many community meals programs around—if … at least a majority who access the food need to be you donate to them and they cook it on the premises, people in need, and we are very on board with inclu- in registered food premises that are designed for that sion and people feeling part of a group and having it as who have people with food safety certificates working in a social occasion. So as long as it’s not more than 30% them, a lot of the risk is gone. And of course that doesn’t of people accessing the food could actually go out and matter a fig for rice, pasta, fresh fruit and veg. So say like 1 3 402 F. Edwards SecondBite, they distribute mainly fresh fruit and veg, centre kitchen. This act of contributing, if they are needy or their risk is minimal. not, promotes a cyclical form of dignity as “when people engage in dignity work intended to promote others’ dignity, Furthermore, by fostering relationships with luxury health they often find that their own dignity is enhanced as well” food stores, eaters dine on a range of high quality ingredients (Jacobson 2012, p. 151). Importantly, there is no judgement that expand their dietary diversity, reminding them they are or expectation for eaters to participate in the meal prepara- ‘worth it’. This valuing of diners beyond basic provisioning is tion, while alternatively everyone is welcome to suggest and symbolized by the addition of normally expensive flowers as cook dishes for the shared menu. A key job for the local table dressings. These flowers, like other ingredients, have lost venue coordinator is to find something for everyone to do, their economic value outside of the marketplace yet through should they wish to participate. Both low-skilled contribu- care-full collection and presentation assert value. Gourmet edi- tions to encourage participation, or support to skill up are ble additions emphasise that feasts are special events, deserv- on offer, as explained by Open Table’s General Manager: ing effort, and should be celebrated. As part of a global food rescue movement, Open Table’s So we do have a lot of people that will help in their ingredients are also sustainably coded extending care to an own way, sweeping ‘or doing the dishes. And then environmental, more-than-human arena, where key tenants there’s some people who really want to help out with include deep connections, reciprocity, and moral commit- cooking, who have limited cooking skills. Particular ments between nonhumans and humans (Whyte and Cuomo in Brunswick, we have a lot of people in supported 2016). Sharp (2020) drawing on Puig de la Bellacasa (2011) housing nearby to help us. But maybe we just get them highlights the need to carefully consider the views of often peeling fruit or helping the table decorations or things neglected actors and their relationships to animate and inani- like that. mate others. In so doing, care in food scholarship has the There is no ‘right’ way to make a dish as people respond potential to expand into many aspects, values and approaches. to the haphazard ingredients at hand. The process of sorting Regarding Open Table’s produce, aspects of care are consid- jumbled produce at different stages of deterioration from ered in the many attributes of sustainable sourcing that include the boxes, combined with its preparation, elicits demonstra- the logistical companies, vendors, farmer owners and labour- tions of skills and stories, embedding personal, material and ers and environmental resources of energy, water, phosphate, experiential values into the anticipated feast. Most people agro-chemicals and fuel. ask what needs to be done, grab a knife and start chopping, Nguyen et  al. (2014) analyse how freegan’s behaviour while others peel, stir, bake, clean, arrange flowers and set becomes symbolic of reverse stigma: consumers are no longer the table. Simple tasks grant an easy access point for people considered to be cultural dupes succumbing to market-driven to participate, especially important for those who are shy or forces of material consumption but instead actively contest unsure. For example, a frequent attendee is an elderly Italian the paradox of hunger versus waste. The emergence of formal gentlemen who participates at three venues (many people food waste organizations and businesses have converted the only attend one) who chooses not to design meals but only to re-use of ‘waste’ into a respectable, and even fashionable, act. chop, cut, grate, pluck, stir and sauté for others. This kitchen By preventing food from going to waste, eaters are not only camaraderie resonates with a feminist ethics of care that personally benefiting from free meals but also contribute to is based on interconnection and relationality (Askins 2015; environmental sustainability—beyond themselves and beyond Beasley and Bacchi 2005; Lawson 2007) where participants the meal—by reducing demand for further waste and pollution. are learning a capacity to care through watching interac- Healthy, gourmet, culturally appropriate, site-specific and tions by others. Opening opportunities for connections to be sustainably-coded ingredients represent the first steps to re- made, assembling the meal is guided by an understanding valuing discarded produce and championing the people who that “people need each other in order to lead a good life and consume it. Through this process of selection, collection and that they can only exist as individuals through and via car- by placing local consumption as part of a global environmen- ing relationships with others” (Sevenhuijsen 2003, p. 183). tal movement, the meal takes on social and environmental This exchange of roles blurs power relationships where “a “regimes of value” (Appadurai 1986, p. 4). This layering of donor transforms his or her status in the relationship from values through practices of care displaces echoes of stigma to the dominant to the generous” (Hattori 2001, p. 640). reframe the meal from threat of famine to feast. Kitchens vary in autonomy with some volunteers choos- ing to acquire more leadership over time. For example, vol- Assembling the meal unteers at the Brunswick site have participated for more than 4 years resulting in little need for support from the Open Everyone—coordinators, volunteers and eaters—is welcome Table General Manager. This duration has enabled a strong to arrive early to help prepare the meal in the community bond between attendees and volunteer chefs to develop. 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 403 I think that a lot of people really enjoy the communal sharing and asserting her skills, said that she would return aspect. And I think the guys who come to Brunswick, to join future activities. that have been coming since the very first week. They have taken a lot of ownership over the events. They all know all the dates … and who’s going to be there. A seat at the table (Open Table General Manager) Finally, the meal is served. The author’s field notes describe Alternatively at the Fawkner site, a new arrival to Aus- a typical Open Table feast: tralia started making Pakistani food to share. Her chicken biryani quickly became extremely popular, attracting When I arrived, dinner was at least halfway prepared, donors who supplied specialist ingredients to ensure the with salads and bits and pieces chopped and being used dish remained on the menu. The volunteer chef’s confi- for this and that. It was all quite random with people dence in her cooking grew through volunteering where just creatively doing what they could with the ingredi- she has since taken on similar roles in the broader asylum ents on hand. (…) There were the normal dishes nicely seeker and refugee community. Hence, care to not only done – a fruit salad sprinkled with pomegranates, kiwi facilitate entry to the meal but to also grant flexibility for fruit and mint, a salsa salad finished off with lemon, a skilling up, to take on new responsibilities, and for reci- broccoli dish, some sautéed Chinese greens. procity within and across roles are essential factors for Open Table respects their eaters’ specific needs. While empowering volunteers to grow their own sense of self Open Table generally serves vegan meals due to food safety whilst also sustaining volunteer-dependent initiatives. factors, depending upon the preferences of attendees, meat Offering the kitchen as a shared, equitable space pro- and dairy may also be served on occassion. For example, vides another possibility for social inclusion and dignity as there is high multi-cultural attendance at the Fawkner as many people feel safer in the familiar kitchen than in venue, Open Table also offer halal meals, and even sepa- the open dining space (Martin 2017). Ahmed (2000, p. rate dining rooms for the women and children. As explained 279–280) recognizes that “collectives are formed through by a volunteer local coordinator: “Yes, we do always share the very work that we need to do in order to get closer to something that will meet every criteria. We get a lot of veg- others”. Here the kitchen becomes a shared space of con- etarians, vegans”. Another local coordinator states: “So stant gentle negotiations as participants offer help and pro- it’s about catering for your community and being cultur- vide instruction, chipping away at the boundaries between ally appropriate”. This consideration evokes what Spring giver and receiver (Askins 2015). An Italian grandmother et al. (2019), drawing on Hayes-Conroy and Hayes-Conroy who is a new arrival to the Coburg Open Table offers a (2013) and Hayes-Conroy (2017), refer to as ‘visceral food good example, as recorded in the author’s field notes: access’ where Open Table acknowledges that attendees have S. tells us that she has cooked all her life and does “specific bodily histories and prior and current affective/ not want to cook! But she remains within the kitchen emotional relations with alternative foods” (Hayes-Conroy to watch us work and as I begin to cook the pasta, and Hayes-Conroy, p. 82) that “comingle with embodied she says that I have no idea how to do it! It needs sensations of food handling and eating to (re)shape visceral salt! Salt! Oil – put oil in! You must stir it! Time it! access, body–food relationships and encounters” (Spring Test it! Test it with the sauce! Her input is relentless. et  al. 2019, p. 845). To make participants feel comforta- I start to tease her a little, in a good way, and her ble they both invite them to prepare, and prepare for them, response is to further torment me with instructions! specific foods that are healthy, enjoyable and suitable for Both our efforts finally pay off as she pronounces the their backgrounds. This eclectic meal not only follows bod- pasta a success and when I go to leave, she blows me ies’ needs but also acknowledges “experiences of social a kiss and asks if I’ll be back. position(ing), norms and difference” (Hayes-Conroy 2017, p. 51). A flexibility to accept ingredients to mark special Bedore (2018, p. 220) speaks of how dignity is ascribed moments is also appreciated, such as the gold coins and through “a person’s enjoyment of having status, rank Christmas cake illustrated in Fig. 1. or being of ‘merit’ compared with others. It is through Open Table volunteers often take care to invite local peo- individual or collective ‘dignity work’ that people work ple to attend the meal by walking to nearby public spaces, to rescue, repair or promote their own dignity, in either doing a letterbox drop, and knocking on neighbors’ doors. affirmative or defensive ways”. The Italian grandmother’s This strategy is effective and essential for people who are knowledge of how to produce good spaghetti symbolises socially or physically isolated or for whom social media affirmative dignity work. From being initially nervous, does not reach. The North Coburg Open Table is one such she was comfortable to enter via the kitchen, which, after example where Open Table volunteers door-knocked a 1 3 404 F. Edwards Fig. 1 Selection of donated food and flowers for Open Table events 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 405 nearby housing complex to personally invite elderly people groups and rife with tensions over different ways of ‘doing’ to participate. and ‘being’ in shared space” (Valentine 2008, p. 328). The Each venue appeals to different attendees (see Table  1 Fawkner Open Table exemplie fi s this aspect where an initial above). Like the meal’s ingredients, attendance is unfixed, clash of cultures, personal identities, expectations and under- dynamic and sporadic—sometimes many people will attend, standings had to be negotiated over time. The Open Table at other times, only a few. Participants’ often reflect a mix of local coordinator explains this emergence: motivations, ages and backgrounds. Open Table is adaptive So we’ve had to slowly slowly build our relationship to social difference where people are not forced to integrate with the locals and welcome newly arrived migrants with each other. Choice is important as not everyone can into that community as well. … I think Fawkner is tolerate the same degree of social interaction. For exam- probably a great success story on that front, given ple, one lady at Coburg was too shy to eat with others so that we have bridged the gap between a lot of Muslim she eats her lunch in the quiet kitchen, while at Fitzroy a migrants and a lot of traditional people that have been homeless man shows up regularly before the meal to receive living there their whole lives with Catholic and Ital- a take-away container packed with food to go on his way. ian backgrounds. So we have to keep in mind different For those who chose to stay, eaters sat either together or culturally appropriate food. So it has to be Halal, but apart. Dining tables may be arranged as one large table, as at the same time we have to offer Italian type dishes as a series of tables placed from end-to-end, or as clusters of well to keep people happy. grouped tables. While not demanding people to sit together, Open Table offers an opportunity for diverse people to share Care is grounded in practice by responding to specific a physical space in a safe, respectful, joyful and well-fed needs (Tronto 1993). The successful outcome acknowl- atmosphere. Here too no judgment is made — people have edged cultural dietary and spatial needs, providing a separate the option to stay, sit and eat together or to grab food and room for Muslim women to eat together with their children. go. This adaptability allows people to maintain their dig- Indeed, this integration of cultures became more complex nity where: “To be dignified or have dignity is first to be in due to the volunteer chef’s enthusiasm for Pakistani cuisine, control of oneself, competently and appropriately exercising inviting more Pakistani guests to attend (often women with one’s power” (Sayer 2007, p. 568). Rather than restrict or their children). Rather than forcing people to eat the same judge an individual, Open Table’s focus remains on care for meal or to share their lunch at the same table, flexibility the individual, the environment, and on the meal itself. One within a safe, tolerant space allowed people to express their amusing incident occurred at the Carlton Open Table where identities. This event evolved from this volunteer’s dishes a very large group of elderly Asian people entered the dining merely satisfying both groups to celebrating difference room, grabbed take-away containers, took a majority of the across cultures. While racism may not be resolved in the food that had been carefully prepared, and then immedi- suburb, Open Table granted a safe space for people to dine ately departed. Rather than be upset, the General Manager together where they could start conversations to understand was happy that the food was appreciated and was no longer each other’s diverse backgrounds. going to waste. With regards to being exclusive and elitist, caution needs to be taken at the Open Table to ensure that both chefs and eaters’ needs, interests and experiences are equitably consid- Discussion ered. The Richmond Open Table provides an example where a new volunteer venue coordinator assembled an enthusiastic The monthly Open Table feast illustrates the layers and itera- and talented team of cooks, all from outside the region. This tions of care that come together to de-stigmatize food dona- team purchased exotic ingredients to heighten flavours, and tion. While Open Table is largely a successful case study, while they produced a delicious gourmet lunch, little effort here I apply criticisms of AFNs to Open Table’s experiences. was made to engage residents in meal preparation result- ing in scant local attendance. This situation was remedied Criticisms of alternative food networks by the General Manager who walked the neighbourhood to personally invite locals to attend the meal. Hence, the proxi- First, AFNs are often criticized for tending towards racism, mate relationality of care must be maintained to continue exclusivity and elitism. For example, Valentine (2008, p. relevance, and thus ensure the success of the shared feast. 334) recognizes that “proximity does not equate with mean- Another common criticism is the capitalist market’s ingful contact”. In other words, by putting people together dominance on AFN goals. While food waste initiatives you cannot claim they will be happily ‘integrated’. Indeed, are becoming increasingly popular around the world, so Valentine argues that there are “many examples of socially too do they rely on waste and other resources produced by mixed neighbourhoods that are territorialized by particular capitalism to exist. Open Table is no exception where they 1 3 406 F. Edwards depend on food waste, other institutions and volunteers to and communities. Many opportunities and some tensions survive. Open Table’s Vice President expressed this con- emerge from their existing ‘in-between’ traditional approaches cern, commenting: “One of the things I want them to get and roles: Open Table seek to be more than a soup kitchen yet is DGR [Deductible Gift Recipients are organisations that still convey this function, while bringing together participants can receive donations that are tax deductible] because you whose interests vary from preparing good food, to combat- cannot apply for a lot of grants without it”. Hence, Open ting food waste, to feeding the socially marginalized. So too Table is not self-sustainable and must seek new strategies to does their size allow them to act as an intermediary between ensure their longevity. One threat for Open Table is that, as large food rescue operations and charity food donation models, urban hunger increases, donors may soon begin insisting on whose large-scale or single-purpose approach prevents them classifying which attendees are in need, hence re-enforcing from taking advantage of such opportunities. By being com- stigmatization. Open Table’s Vice President explains: plementary, rather than competitive, Open Table is also cared for by other agencies: “They [FareShare] are kind of mentor- So you’ve got levels … So ‘A’ is emergency food ing us in a sense. … [FareShare’s Operations Manager] she’s relief. Then if there is any left over I am happy to give kind of taken our project on as her own … personal interest in it to people who are doing community building, train- getting us to be sustainable”. ing and the like ... If need gets too high and people are Occupying this constantly negotiated space that is based not getting enough food to eat then the obvious thing foremost on social relationships, Open Table represents an for me to do is cut out funding, giving free food to alternative form of food bank following Cloke et al. (2017) that those other programs. exists ‘in the meantime’; disrupting conventional boundaries between giver and receiver, need and want, and acceptance and Blurring boundaries to displace stigma resistance to the status quo. With these events largely acces- sible seeking to be inclusive, open, and non-judgmental, Open Open Table’s ability to blur boundaries and to exist ‘in- Table’s feasts have become representative of ‘micro-publics’ between’ enables them to overcome stigma through de- (Amin 2002), events of organized group activities where classification and care. Care is performed throughout Open diverse eaters can come together “to break out of fixed pat- Table’s operations. Drawing on Tronto (1993), Open Table’s terns of interaction and learn new ways of being and relating” founders and donors ‘care about’ societal issues of hunger (Valentine 2008, p. 331). Such disruption based on dialogue and loneliness and environmental concerns of food waste, and gentle contestation allows change to occur. where Open Table along with the support of Neighbour- These interactions become politically transformative as they hood Houses and others come together to ‘take care of’ re-play across different venues to carve out new communities these issues by committing to providing an ongoing ser- (Askins 2015). Open Table’s venues act as important ‘third vice. However, definitions of care ‘giving’ and ‘receiving’ places’, defined by Oldenburg (1999, p. 16) as “public places become blurred where roles are exchanged and diluted in the that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily antici- Open Table kitchen, where personal stigma is displaced by pated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home all being welcome to ‘care with’ or ‘care for’ global issues of and work”. Becoming ‘second homes’ through the building environmental concern through re-valuing food from waste. of social relationships, such shared third places also become While creating a space for difference, Open Table seeks political as they push back gentric fi ation in defence of margin - to close physical, social and symbolic gaps. This space “for alized people who are losing accessible social spaces (Olden- self-care and care for others” (Bedore 2018, p. 226) gains burg 2000). capacity through sharing actions and produce to enable So it’s kind of addressing the issues surrounding gentri- alternative forms of consumption to persist. Embedding an fication, with splitting between the communities. Mel- environmental ethics through consuming food waste—as an bourne … is very much about community. And each overt practice or not—transforms relationships from charity suburb had its own kind of little subculture or micro- to care (Darling 2011). Belonging as ‘longing to be’ (Probyn environment which we are losing now because of gen- 1996) is reflected by participants’ regular return, where the trification and the housing process. (Open Table General community feast becomes a yearning for social attachment, Manager) to feel part of a larger whole to others through place, con- vivial ritual and food. Suggestions for future research Care as a disruptive force for change Future research could interrogate the gendered role of care in food redistribution practices, the ethics of care practices in Open Table employs an adaptive model that allows for novel community, versus state and corporate-based organizations, connections to be made between local agencies, spaces, stores 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 407 and how food surplus redistribution could be better sustained important connectors across society that support not only within capitalist-centric food systems. So too could different food security, but also social inclusion, dignity and envi- lenses be explored for their potential to displace individual ronmental benefits. stigma towards positive action to address global issues, such Acknowledgements The data collection for this research was funded as linking to food justice solidarity movements. By bringing by the European Research Council as part of the SHARECITY project care more centrally within AFN literature complemented at Trinity College Dublin, Grant Agreement Number: 646883. by employing methodologies that listen to hidden and mar- ginalised animate and inanimate perspectives, more holistic Funding Open Access funding provided by NTNU Norwegian Univer- understandings of contemporary food systems can be pro- sity of Science and Technology (incl. St. Olavs Hospital - Trondheim University Hospital). duced to identify better junctures of, and motivations for, care-full change. So too could research into complemen- Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri- tary activities investigate how such care-full moments can bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta- be both spatially and temporally extended from the table tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, and from the monthly meal to remain within the community provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes between courses. Open Table reveals connections between were made. The images or other third party material in this article are care and space, where future research could interrogate included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated how political-economic structures showcase or blind trans- otherwise in a credit line to the material. 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The “dark side” of tion in community food programs among low-income Toronto food banks? Exploring emotional responses of food bank receivers families. Canadian Journal of Public Health 100: 135–139. in the Netherlands. British Food Journal 116: 1506–1520. 1 3 Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table 409 Whyte, K.P., and C. Cuomo. 2016. Ethics of caring in environmental Ferne Edwards Ferne Edwards is Postdoctoral Fellow in Socially and ethics: Indigenous and feminist philosophies. In The Oxford hand- Environmentally Just Transitions, Department of Design, Norwegian book of environmental ethics, ed. S.M. Gardiner and A. Thomp- University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway. Previously son, 234–247. New York: Oxford University Press. Research Fellow, RMIT University Centre for Urban Research (Aus- Wray, N., and P. Christensen. 2014. Fitzroy Community Food Centre tralia) and Work Package Lead of the EU EdiCitNet project at RMIT project plan. Melbourne: Cultivating Community. Europe (Spain), Ferne is a cultural anthropologist researching urban natures, edible cities, waste, beekeeping, and food sharing. Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. 1 3

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