Feeding the food insecure in Britain: learning from the 2020 COVID-19 crisis

Margo Barker () and Jean Russell
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Margo Barker: Sheffield Hallam University
Jean Russell: University of Sheffield

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2020, vol. 12, issue 4, No 24, 865-870

Abstract: Abstract The lockdown in Britain has rendered a large proportion of the population economically vulnerable and has at least quadrupled demand for emergency food relief. This paper looks critically at response to the crisis from the government and the voluntary sector with respect to provision of emergency food. In doing so, it has exposed gaps in understanding of the vagaries of the food supply for certain population groups and systemic weaknesses in the current system of emergency food aid. We make recommendations for healthier governmental capacity to react to a food security crisis, better relationships between the government and the voluntary sector, and further research into the dietary constraints of the precariate. Importantly, the social system needs to be responsive to short-term changes in people’s income if people are not to fall into food insecurity.

Keywords: COVID-19; Precarious working; Food banks; Charitable food; Food poverty; Food aid (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-020-01080-5

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