Food Insecurity and Food Aid in ‘Advanced’ Neoliberalism: Interrogating the trajectory of neoliberalism through a study of food insecurity and food aid in contemporary Bradford

This thesis explores whether a particular form of neoliberalism – aligned with contemporaneous constructions of religion and race – constitutes a meta-narrative to explain food aid and food insecurity. It addresses two religions (Christianity; Islam) and two ethnic groups (white-British; Pakistani). It uses a mixed-methods case-study of Bradford, composed of three interlinked studies. Study 1 involved focus groups and interviews with food aid providers/stakeholders (N=27). In Study 2, data from the Born in Bradford study were matched with data on food insecurity and self-reported general health from the nested Born in Bradford 1000 study, and mental health data from GP records (N=1280). Study 3 involved three focus groups and one interview with Pakistani-Muslim (N=8) and white-British (N=8) women in/at risk of food insecurity. There is a relationship between socioeconomic status and both food insecurity and the use of food aid. Secular and religious food aid is becoming formalised as part of a denuded welfare system and, within this system, service providers and users pathologise and individualise (food) poverty, and deny racial difference. Food insecure participants are controlled within and outside food aid, particularly via self-surveillance. Nevertheless, food aid usage, and the experience and health impacts of food insecurity, are shaped by ethnic and religious identity in addition to socioeconomic status. Food aid is a multifaceted phenomenon; it cannot be defined as a ‘shadow state’. Religious involvement in food aid is underpinned not by belief in the superiority of religious welfare but a Caritas framework. Food aid best emulates nineteenth-century systems of philanthropy, shaped by Calvinist ideas of the deserving/undeserving poor. Outside food aid, systems of mutual aid – often informed by Islam – operate despite the neoliberal state. This case-study suggests that whilst a neoliberal meta-narrative may explain components of contemporary food aid and food insecurity, it cannot describe the phenomena in their entirety

Proxy longitudinal indicators of household food insecurity in the UK

Background: Rising food bank usage in the UK suggests a growing prevalence of food insecurity. However, a formalised, representative measure of food insecurity was not collected in the UK until 2019, over a decade after the initial proliferation of food bank demand. In the absence of a direct measure of food insecurity, this article identifies and summarises longitudinal proxy indicators of UK food insecurity to gain insight into the growth of insecure access to food in the 21st century. Methods: A rapid evidence synthesis of academic and grey literature (2005–present) identified candidate proxy longitudinal markers of food insecurity. These were assessed to gain insight into the prevalence of, or conditions associated with, food insecurity. Results: Food bank data clearly demonstrates increased food insecurity. However, this data reflects an unrepresentative, fractional proportion of the food insecure population without accounting for mild/moderate insecurity, or those in need not accessing provision. Economic indicators demonstrate that a period of poor overall UK growth since 2005 has disproportionately impacted the poorest households, likely increasing vulnerability and incidence of food insecurity. This vulnerability has been exacerbated by welfare reform for some households. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically intensified vulnerabilities and food insecurity. Diet-related health outcomes suggest a reduction in diet quantity/quality. The causes of diet-related disease are complex and diverse; however, evidence of socio-economic inequalities in their incidence suggests poverty, and by extension, food insecurity, as key determinants. Conclusion: Proxy measures of food insecurity suggest a significant increase since 2005, particularly for severe food insecurity. Proxy measures are inadequate to robustly assess the prevalence of food insecurity in the UK. Failure to collect standardised, representative data at the point at which food bank usage increased significantly impairs attempts to determine the full prevalence of food insecurity, understand the causes, and identify those most at risk

Disciplinary and pastoral power, food and poverty in late-modernity

Using a Foucauldian perspective, we explicate the systems of power which shape the lives of women in or at risk of ‘food poverty’. We develop a theoretical framework of power for analyses of contemporary food poverty, which we apply to data from focus groups with women on low incomes in two cities in the north of England. Our data underlines the repressive power of the state as well as the broader chronicity of state surveillance. We argue that, while disciplinary and pastoral power may characterise the majority of food banks, alternative logics of mutual aid are evident within some food aid providers. We underline the power of governmental discourse in constituting gendered subjectivities and find that the most potent form of coercion is derived from self-regulation. The article closes by exploring possibilities for praxis via discursive resistance

“The reality is that on Universal Credit I cannot provide the recommended amount of fresh fruit and vegetables per day for my children”: Moving from a behavioural to a systemic understanding of food practices

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that people living in poverty often experience inadequate nutrition with short and long-term health consequences. Whilst the diets of low-income households have been subject to scrutiny, there is limited evidence in the UK on the diet quality and food practices of households reporting food insecurity and food bank use. We explore lived experiences of food insecurity and underlying drivers of diet quality among low-income families, drawing upon two years of participatory research with families of primary school age children. METHODS: We report on a mixed-methods study of the relationship between low income, food bank use, food practices and consumption from a survey of 612 participants, including 136 free text responses and four focus groups with 22 participants. The research followed a parallel mixed-methods design: qualitative and quantitative data were collected separately, although both were informed by participatory work. Quantitative data were analysed using binary and multinomial logistic regression modelling; qualitative data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Lower income households and those living with food insecurity struggle to afford a level of fruit and vegetable consumption that approaches public health guidance for maintaining a healthy diet, despite high awareness of the constituents of a healthy diet. Participants used multiple strategies to ensure as much fruit, vegetable and protein consumption as possible within financial constraints. The quantitative data suggested a relationship between higher processed food consumption and having used a food bank, independent of income and food security status. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that individualised, behavioural accounts of food practices on a low-income misrepresent the reality for people living with poverty. Behavioural or educational interventions are therefore likely to be less effective in tackling food insecurity and poor nutrition among people on a low income; policies focusing on structural drivers, including poverty and geographical access to food, are needed