2) Austerity led to material scarcities (housing, health, food insecurity...) but also excesses of wealth and profit
3) Food banks now negotiate real scarcities because of growing levels of need and highly uneven donations (seasonal, rural/urban).
4) Some Independent foodbanks struggle to get donations from nearby supermarkets because of exclusive agreements with The Trussell Trust. Yet some TT foodbanks also share donations with IND foodbanks (NB since COVID, there has been incredible collaboration btw food bank org)
5) While some food banks are often at crisis point, we illustrate how food banks practices e.g. standardised list of items, rationing, time-limited support and referral systems can exacerbate the hardships and stigma of those food banks seek to support
6) We challenge the image of 'absolute hunger' and the ‘empty cupboard' (through which only those without any food at all are determined to be in need, and those seeking to augment a limited supply of food on a more regular basis are viewed as seeking to ‘cheat the system’).
7) Amid increasing evidence of chronic food insecurity in the UK, the image of ‘empty cupboards’ (alongside time-limited and referral systems) discourage people in need from seeking support, and lead to the self-rationing of food and food vouchers
8) For instance, saving up vouchers until desperate, and making a 3 day food parcel stretch two weeks
9) The paper also highlights how volunteers navigate these rationing and referral systems, alongside the role of food bank orgs which do not ration or use referral systems
• • •
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Been updating reading lists and found some recent papers on food justice:
New paper by Dr Rebecca Sandover @SandySom on "Participatory Food Cities: Scholar Activism and the Co-Production of Food Knowledge" mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/9…
On 1 April 2019 Dorset Council (Unitary Authority) was established by combining East Dorset District Council, North Dorset District Council, Purbeck District Council, West Dorset District Council and Weymouth & Portland District Council, and Dorset County Council.
Between 2015/16 to 2018/19 each of the district councils had a reduction in their core spending power of 2.9%, 16.2%, 7.3%, 7.5%, 11.9%, respectively (data source: MHCLG 2019 Core spending power: final local government finance settlement 2019 to 2020
In the meantime, mutual aid groups, councils, charities, food banks, co-ops, pantries and faith groups have scrabbled to meet growing need. Hot food deliveries, food parcels, and more
At @CardiffFoodbank volunteers have helped people facing digital exclusion get appointments, ring ulitity companies, social services, organise shielding.
If the River could cwtch,
it would embrace you knowingly
It would know the sodden walk home after a picket,
It would remind you of makeshift rugby games, birthdays and picnics.
It would laugh at my failed attempt(s) to find its source with dad,
And sheepishly explain the floods were not its fault.
It has been there on runs where I have had to walk,
And walks where I couldn’t help but run.
As I have seen it break its banks,
It has seen me break mine.
@sainsburys I rang to ask if you could donate 60 X £5 gift cards (£300) to a Cardiff homeless charity. Soup runs have closed. Some people have not eaten for 2 days
Call centre said no
Given #covid19UK & our greater use/reliance of supermarkets, could you reconsider?
This would be a one off as Council meals on wheels service should kick very soon (hence only 60 cards to tie people over till then)