The food bank : a safety-net in place of welfare security in times of austerity and the Covid-19 crisis

Beck, DJ; Gwilym, H

Abstract

The food bank has become a charitable safety-net for those who have been failed by the
social security system in times of austerity and during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this
article we evidence the rise of food banking in the context of declining social security,
examining the decade of austerity in the UK and the Covid-19 period. We also contextualise the process of normalisation of food banks as a new safety-net in a reduced
welfare state. We argue that the welfare state has failed to address a fundamental ‘Want’ –
namely, food security

Citation

Beck, D., & Gwilym, H. (2022). The food bank : a safety-net in place of welfare security in times of austerity and the Covid-19 crisis. Social Policy and Society, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746421000907

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 20, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Feb 14, 2022
• Publication Date: Feb 14, 2022
• Deposit Date: Nov 30, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 30, 2021
• Journal: Social Policy and Society
• Print ISSN: 1474-7464
• Electronic ISSN: 1475-3073
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746421000907
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746421000907
• Related Public URLs: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=SPS
• Additional Information: Access Information : This article has been published in a revised form in Social Policy and Society, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746421000907. This version is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND. No commercial re-distribution or re-use allowed. Derivative works cannot be distributed. © The Author(s), 2022.