FROM CRISIS TO CATALYST: THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN MANAGING FOOD INSECURITY DURING COVID-19

Abstract

This thesis is an ethnographic study of food insecurity in Singapore, which seeks to uncover the different factors that lead to variations in both the availability of and accessibility to food resources among less privileged residents living in public rental flats. It also aims to interrogate how and whether the different dimensions of social capital, comprising the structural and cognitive, wield any influence on residents’ access to food. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were adopted as methods of data collection. Three key findings emerged from this study. Firstly, food insecurity extends beyond financial duress. Instead, the lack of food literacy, household resources and stable familial support renders residents unable to effectively utilise food aid resources, thereby being not able to procure a stable supply of food. Secondly, structural social capital is found to be integral in creating a reliable and cohesive mutual system of dependence and neighbourly ecosystem which allows residents to exchange necessary favours, knowledge and resources that ultimately allow them to have a stable access to edible nutritious food. Thirdly, the longevity of this mutual system of dependence is sustained by shared identity, goals, narratives and trust which is deeply embedded within these social networks. Understanding how these two dimensions of social capital mutually reinforce one another is crucial for us to comprehend the potential utility of social capital and how it could improve less privileged residents’ capacity to overcome food insecurity in post COVID-19 Singapore.