Rising use of “food aid” in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm: 412925 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from two recent reviews on food aid use in the UK and discuss their implications and the challenges they posed for researchers, policy makers and the voluntary and community sector. Design/methodology/approach -The paper draws on two research reviews conducted in 2013 and 2014. Findings -Whilst it is possible to draw important insights into key drivers of food aid use, how food aid is draw on by recipients and some of the perceived outcomes of the provision from the research that is available, ultimately the reviews highlight the emergent and largely unsystematic nature of the UK evidence base. The lack of agreed definitions and measures of food insecurity/food poverty further limits the knowledge base. Even where such evidence may be forthcoming, in terms of implementing effective solutions to the need for food aid, UK researchers, policy makers, NGOs and others face considerable challenges in terms of identifying responsibilities for addressing the causes of this need, which the most effective scale for response may be (local or national) and finally, overcoming a highly complex and not necessarily co-ordinated policy framework. Originality/value -The paper provides a critical overview of the state of knowledge on food aid in the UK.

Social justice and remembering “the personal is political” in counselling and psychotherapy: So, what can therapists do?

“…Similar patterns of cuts and austerity measures are also present in many American States. In the UK, there is an increasing need for food aid (Lambie‐Mumford & Dowler, ), and there are significant problems of fuel poverty (Roberts, Vera‐Toscano, & Phimister, ). In addition to any potential physical impacts of this, there are often psychological and emotional implications.…”

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

“…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.…”

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“…This is particularly pertinent when also considering the high levels of unemployment that currently persist across Europe, the increasing costs of housing and fuel, that for many people wages have decreased in real terms, and significant welfare reform (Eurofound , Hughes , Lambie‐Mumford , Lambie‐Mumford and Dowler , Wells and Caraher ). These are just some of the conditions which have given rise to an increasing need for emergency help with food provision for many individuals and families.…”

“…For instance, van der Horst et al's (, p.1514) study involving in‐depth interviews with food bank receivers in the Netherlands revealed that receivers often feel their experience of poverty is not taken seriously by food bank volunteers, and that ‘compulsory gratitude feels degrading, especially when the causes of the current financial situation of the household are being seen as external’. Reflecting on in‐depth qualitative research and literature analysis of the UK case, Lambie‐Mumford and Dowler (, p.1420) explain that people employ a whole range of tactics when faced with crisis, ‘including changes to shopping and eating habits, cutting back on other outgoings, and turning to family and friends for help’, and that food aid is often a last resort. There are clear implications for the ethics of consumption, whereby habits, preferences and tastes might be altered before emergency food sources are sought, with inevitable moral questions about how these decisions are made, who else in a household might be affected, and what the longer term impacts might be on everyday consumption habits such as shopping, cooking, and wasting.…”