Big society or broken society?: Food banks in the UK

Caplan, Pat

doi:10.1111/1467-8322.12223

Cited by 71 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This admittance can be a source of shame and embarrassment, thereby preventing people from visiting foodbanks (Caplan, 2016): a finding also observed in Dutch, German, and French contexts (Rombach, Bitsch, Kang, & Ricchieri, 2018;van der Horst, Pascucci, & Bol, 2014). Those who do visit often disclose that accessing aid has made them feel like 'failures' (Douglas, Sapko, Kiezebrink, & Kyle, 2015).…”

Section: Stigma Within Foodbank Helping Transactionsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Garthwaite (2016aGarthwaite ( , 2017 makes two observations that highlight how client/volunteer social distance may be much smaller than the IHSR model or Social Curse literature would suggest. Second, it is relatively common for volunteers to have been previous recipients of food-aid who wish to 'give something back' (Caplan, 2016). This suggests clients may be seen less in terms of chronic negative stereotypes and more as victims of recent socio-political/economic circumstances that could affect anyone (austerity measures, zero-hours contracts, benefits sanctions), thus encouraging a sense of potential common fate between client and volunteer.…”

Section: Perceived Similarity In Foodbank Helping Transactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is an increase of 12.68% on 2016-2017, and 284.14% on 2012-2013(Trussell Trust, 2018. This is an increase of 12.68% on 2016-2017, and 284.14% on 2012-2013(Trussell Trust, 2018.…”

Section: Context: the Trussell Trustmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Sometimes, it's not just about the food': The social identity dynamics of foodbank helping transactions

Bowe

Wakefield

Këllezi

et al. 2019

Euro J Social Psych

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Food insecurity in developed countries has increased rapidly. Research has suggested that stigma may inhibit food‐aid help‐seeking, but has failed to determine how such barriers might be overcome. Adopting a social identity perspective, this study explored the processes involved in food‐aid helping transactions and sought to identify conditions that facilitate positive helping outcomes. Interviews were conducted with 18 clients and 12 volunteers at two English foodbanks, and a theoretically guided thematic analysis was conducted. Two primary themes were identified: ‘Here to Help’ and ‘The Legitimate Recipient’. This article offers a distinct and novel contribution by applying a social identity perspective to foodbank helping transactions, thereby demonstrating how group dynamics and behaviours are integral to these interactions, and by moving beyond the typical ‘Social Curse’ focus on barriers to help‐seeking to explore how such obstacles may be overcome. Suggestions for addressing stigma‐laden helping transactions and promoting successful delivery of aid are provided.

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Section: Stigma Within Foodbank Helping Transactionsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Perceived Similarity In Foodbank Helping Transactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

‘Sometimes, it's not just about the food': The social identity dynamics of foodbank helping transactions

Bowe

Wakefield

Këllezi

et al. 2019

Euro J Social Psych

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Clients can choose between basic types of items ( e.g . rice or pasta) but, in general, receive a pre‐determined list of canned vegetables, fruit, baked beans, meat, rice or pasta, soup, UHT milk, tea or coffee, and extra treat items, when available (Caplan ). As has been observed in food banks operating across high‐income countries (Simmet et al .…”

Section: What Are Food Banks In the Uk?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rising food bank use in the UK: Sign of a new public health emergency?

Loopstra

2018

Nutrition Bulletin

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The provision of food aid through food banks has recently expanded in the UK. By providing free bags of food to people experiencing financial shortfalls, food banks aim to prevent individuals and families from going without food. A growing body of research has sought to understand this type of provisioning, from what it indicates about social security in the UK to what it indicates about the problem of food insecurity. Here, recent research on the characteristics of people receiving help from food banks is reviewed, highlighting that they serve the most financially vulnerable groups in the UK: people with disabilities, people receiving out‐of‐work benefits and lone parents. The severity and chronicity of food insecurity observed in this population is a public health concern, as is evidence of high rates of poor mental health. Food banks have largely gone unevaluated for how well they do at meeting the needs of people using them, but focusing on building better food banks may also serve to further entrench voluntary and charitable food assistance as part of the social safety net in the UK. Given evidence that policy interventions such as pensions and income transfers reduce food insecurity, the importance of restoring strong social safety nets for reducing the need for food banks and food insecurity is discussed.

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“…Yet, avoiding waste is underpinned by a variety of social norms, behaviours and conventions, including, amongst others: sharing, caring, gifting, re-use and recycling. There is a growing body of literature exploring food sharing practices, from 'pot-luck' arrangements and commensality [64]; to community food gardens [65], organised food swapping events as part of local sharing economies [66], and those noting the rise of the food banks in the UK [67,68]. However, other than Julier's [64] work, such studies focus on organised, collective arrangements, rather than small scale, domestic practice.…”

Section: Multiple Pathways For Riddingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

2016

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Abstract:The paper makes two contributions to the advancement of the 'circular economy' as a blueprint for a more sustainable society. The first is to highlight the importance of understanding the dynamics of consumption and waste in the domestic sphere. The second is to illustrate two ways in which using insights from socio-technical literature on sustainable consumption, in combination with the sociology of food, could contribute to redressing this shortfall. This includes understanding why people use or consume particular goods or services, and how this might be altered; and what drives the production of waste and the adoption of strategies for its reduction by consumers. We mobilise insights from a socio-technical perspective on consumption, which highlights the importance of everyday interactions between routine activities, mundane technologies and cultural meanings in (re)producing patterns of consumption. These insights are illustrated with reference to domestic food provisioning, using empirical data generated through twenty semi-structured interviews with consumers in relation to meat consumption and thriftiness. Two suggestions for the development of the 'circular economy' to better take account of consumption within the domestic sphere are made. The first is a shift from imagining consumers as 'users' of particular products or services, to conceptualisation as 'doers' of everyday activities. The second is a broadening of the principle of 'eco-effectiveness' to take account for the social value of consumption.

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Big society or broken society?: Food banks in the UK

Cited by 71 publications

References 12 publications

‘Sometimes, it's not just about the food': The social identity dynamics of foodbank helping transactions

‘Sometimes, it's not just about the food': The social identity dynamics of foodbank helping transactions

Rising food bank use in the UK: Sign of a new public health emergency?

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

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