Sharing meals is a huge part of socialisation and bringing people together but did you know it can become exclusive? We discuss a number of factors that might compromise the inclusivity of a shared meal 🥖🥩🌽
Fortunately we live in a world where people strive for inclusion and equality, each person or group of people in their own ways. Gender, racial, socioeconomic, sexual equality and inclusion- the list goes on and so it should. One area though that I feel lacks momentum, awareness, maybe even a voice is inclusion and equality through food. Even in this realm, there is a vast difference amongst conditions and considerations regarding the level of awareness and dialogue in the community.
When you walk into a restaurant, it’s likely you’ve seen some kind of signage that tells you to let staff know if you have an allergy such as nuts, seafood or gluten. Or if you choose to maintain a certain diet based on ethical or political choices, you’ll often find vegetarian or vegan options on the menu. However, I’m yet to stumble across a menu that indicates they can provide any level of diet or fluid modification to suit the needs of someone with dysphagia.
If you think about it, how much of your social life revolves around food? Weekend brunch, coffee break with colleagues, Friday night drinks, Sunday lunch with family, a sit down wedding reception? Work wants to show you they appreciate you, so they put on a free lunch for the team. Your best friend's baby shower with the cutest cupcakes. The dreaded but seemingly life-saving coffee and a walk during COVID. Dinner with that friend you haven’t seen in the longest time, or that dreaded/exciting first date 🥂
What most people don’t realise is that when your normal means of making and maintaining connections becomes limited or no longer inclusive for you, it can often lead to social isolation. Sure, a person can still attend and not eat but imagine sitting at a table and being the only one with no food on your plate. Or being the only one who can’t swap notes on how good those cupcakes were or how overcooked the chicken was. It also draws attention to an issue or characteristic about a person that they might not want to talk about or feel like explaining to others. A natural result of this is that a person no longer socialises as much and loses their regular means of maintaining relationships with others and meeting their social needs.
Because I’m writing this in the heart of Melbourne, I can’t imagine the toll this would take on a person who might be a self-identified foodie and live to float amongst the many restaurants, wine bars, pubs and cafes that put life in this city. Or someone who lives to drop into the MCG at the end of the week to watch footy and sink a pint of lager, chew on a jam donut or indulge in a four-n-twenty with their friends or family 🍺🌭
Further to this, the impact that this has often extends to the person’s spouse, carer or family members and is often forgotten about or goes unacknowledged, even more so than the dysphagia itself. This runs especially true for spouses who socialise together with friends and family as it is often an act of solidarity to stay home together. Although, this also means that they often find new ways to socialise together too.
When a person loses access to their social means, connection and things that bring them joy and comfort it naturally can result in low mood or depression. When a person can no longer do the things they used to, feel embarrassed about their needs or the way their body works, it can understandably result in a lack of confidence. The social, mental and emotional impact of dysphagia is multifaceted but I would argue, not because of the nature of dysphagia but because of how empowering and important mealtimes are. Especially the notion of sharing food.
Now we’ve spoken about the concept of disenfranchised grief and we also had the privilege of catching up with social worker, Angela, to explain how it relates to the experience of dysphagia. A key element to the idea is that dysphagia is often unknown amongst people in the community, including family and friends, and goes unnoticed or unacknowledged by others. This can have a huge impact on how a person relates to other people, including maintaining relationships and social connections, but also how they relate to and see themselves, at times, resulting in a loss of confidence or reduced self esteem. It is hard to engage with others as you once did when a significant part of your life or lifestyle has changed and goes unacknowledged.
However, this is not to blame those who are unfamiliar with dysphagia or its impact on a person. It is to say that the community would benefit from an elevation of knowledge and awareness because you cannot adapt, change or support if you don’t know. It is one thing to be aware of dysphagia but another to understand the levels of modification and how to achieve them in order to create an inclusive mealtime experience.
That brings us back to why we’re doing what we do... The goal of The Fourth Place is to bring this awareness to the forefront and the mainstream but more than that, to bring a new perspective to cooking, to food culture and to your kitchen. Modifying foods isn’t hard and shouldn’t be the reason why a person feels left out and least of all the reason they stop seeing the people they love as much as they used to.
So get inspired, get creative, and get to the kitchen to try some modified recipes out ✨
Comments