Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Notes on contributors
- one Introduction: social activism, belonging and citizenship in a period of crisis
- Part I The social consequences of welfare policy
- Part II The practice of social good
- Part III Social change and neoliberalism
- Part IV Situating solidarity in perspective
- Index
Nine - Addressing food poverty in the UK
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Notes on contributors
- one Introduction: social activism, belonging and citizenship in a period of crisis
- Part I The social consequences of welfare policy
- Part II The practice of social good
- Part III Social change and neoliberalism
- Part IV Situating solidarity in perspective
- Index
Summary
As London foodbank network manager for The Trussell Trust, I hear countless stories like this one from Lydia, who was referred to one of the network's 420-plus foodbanks in the UK after losing her job:
“I’ve worked all my adult life. After working in a bank for 25 years and then in a solicitors’ office, I was made redundant when my boss had to get rid of 15 staff members across the board. I got redundancy pay but I still had bills, rent to pay and a child to look after. My money was dwindling; my income had gone from £24K a year to £4K…. I went to my new support worker and she advised she could help by giving me a voucher for a foodbank. I was shocked – I never even knew they existed here. I looked at her and just cried, thinking: ‘Is this what it's really come to?’”
As well as giving emergency food supplies, the network offers emotional support and a growing range of practical projects via its More Than Food programme to help tackle poverty-related issues. Our mission statement is: bringing communities together to end hunger and poverty in the UK by providing compassionate, practical help while challenging injustice.
We are passionate about what we do and work collectively to make a positive difference in the lives of others. We are inspired by The Trussell Trust's mission verse taken from Matthew's gospel:
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25: 35-36)
In order to fulfil its aim of ending hunger and poverty in the UK, The Trussell Trust gathers statistics on foodbank use and uses them to lobby decision makers to achieve social change. This chapter details the different programmes we have devised and examines some external challenges the London network faces. In this chapter, I propose that one of the reasons for accessing foodbanks in times of crisis is social isolation.
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- Information
- Austerity Community Action and the Future of Citizenship , pp. 143 - 156Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2017