The Covid-19 pandemic: an impetus to address food poverty
Nicola Sturgeon visits Dundee Food Bank in 2015
Katie Sperring argues that the current global health crisis can be the starting point for big change.
The past five years have seen a startling escalation in the number of families and individuals being forced to seek the help of food bank networks, to access basic supplies. One of the UK’s largest networks, the Trussell Trust, has seen a 73% increase in the number of food parcels being distributed since 2014, and last year distributed a record 1.6 million emergency parcels, half a million of which were given to children. The coronavirus pandemic has only made many British families’ lack of basic financial security even starker. The last two weeks of March 2020 saw an 81% increase in demand for food parcels compared to the same period last year, and a 122% increase in parcels being given to children.
These circumstances provide an opportunity to invigorate our attempts to reduce food poverty: politically, charitably, and socially. A combination of all these will be necessary if true progress is to be achieved.
Addressing food poverty politically is central to this cause. The government should be credited for measures it has implemented in response to the escalation of financial instability; these include the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme and considerable investment in Universal Credit. Yet this should not detract from the fact that many people remain unable to access the most basic food supplies. This is even more condemnable when the actions of the government bear a great deal of responsibility for the situation in which many find themselves. This government continues to enforce a five-week waiting period between the application and receipt of Universal Credit, during which those waiting are left without any governmental support. In recent weeks, 1.8 million people have applied for Universal Credit and now face this very wait. It is in this period that organisations like the Trussell Trust provide the otherwise-unavailable support. Such charities are admirable for their emergency support; yet it remains true that reliance on organisations such as these should not be accepted as an inevitability of economically-challenging times, nor a substitute for financial security, but as the chief piece of evidence that further changes must be made by the government.
In the short-term, this change could take the form of the Coronavirus Emergency Income Support Scheme, which is supported by a coalition of charities, including the Trussell Trust and IFAN. Their joint letter to the Chancellor can be read here. In the longer-term, this calls for eliminating the five-week wait for Universal Credit. The Trussell Trust are already seeking to address this through campaigning; further details, and a link to sign up to support this campaign, can be found here. Ultimately, campaigning will remain necessary to ensure that once Universal Credit is accessed, it is actually sufficient – many continue to require the support of food banks after they receive Universal Credit. Optimism about campaigning is not misplaced. Donations from members of the public comprise 90% of the food distributed by the Trussell Trust. Translating this charitableness into wider political activism against food poverty could generate the impetus for political change.
In the interim, our charitableness remains essential to the operation of food banks. In my own recent experience volunteering in a local Trussell Trust food bank, my heart was warmed by the generosity of the donations we received throughout the day, and the time and kindness lent by volunteers in a multiplicity of tasks: packing and distributing parcels, of course, but also giving emotional support to those who came to the food bank. Manifesting our own generosity is possible in a number of ways and can be so impactful, whether that is donating food to our local banks (see if you can call them first and ask what foods they are short of) – either directly, or using donation points in local supermarkets – or volunteering in one.
Many food banks find themselves without sufficient volunteers, as their regular volunteers are in “high-risk” categories for contracting the virus: more than 30% of Trussell volunteers over the age of 65. If you are in a position to be able to lend your time safely – which many students are – it is likely to be much needed. Financial donations are also an option. The pandemic places a unique strain on each and every individual and family, but if you are able to act generously, it is imperative to do so.
Underpinning charitableness is a host of values that both embolden, and are emboldened by, a sense of community. Generosity, resilience, and a belief that we are able to affect change through our individual and collective actions are chief among these. If we continually demonstrate these attitudes through supporting food banks, both practically and politically, we can drive the change that will eventually mean food banks are no longer necessities in our communities. What’s more, exhibiting values like generosity and resilience is necessary to address all manner of socio-economic problems, not just food poverty. The positive impact of the manifestation of these values can diffuse beyond this one issue.
There is no shortage of reasons to be optimistic if we all lend a hand, politically, charitably, and socially, to resolve problems such as food poverty. We can and should work collectively to eliminate food banks. This coronavirus pandemic presents a unique flashpoint where we can draw together and do just that.
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