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1 – 10 of 889Neil Bernard Boyle and Maddy Power
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…
Abstract
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.
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Maddy Power, Bob Doherty, Katie J. Pybus and Kate E. Pickett
This article draws upon our perspective as academic-practitioners working in the fields of food insecurity, food systems, and inequality to comment, in the early stages of the…
Abstract
This article draws upon our perspective as academic-practitioners working in the fields of food insecurity, food systems, and inequality to comment, in the early stages of the pandemic and associated lockdown, on the empirical and ethical implications of COVID-19 for socio-economic inequalities in access to food in the UK. The COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened the profound insecurity of large segments of the UK population, an insecurity itself the product of a decade of “austerity” policies. Increased unemployment, reduced hours, and enforced self-isolation for multiple vulnerable groups is likely to lead to an increase in UK food insecurity, exacerbating diet-related health inequalities. The social and economic crisis associated with the pandemic has exposed the fragility of the system of food charity which, at present, is a key response to growing poverty. A vulnerable food system, with just-in-time supply chains, has been challenged by stockpiling. Resultant food supply issues at food banks, alongside rapidly increasing demand and reduced volunteer numbers, has undermined many food charities, especially independent food banks. In the light of this analysis, we make a series of recommendations. We call for an immediate end to the five week wait for Universal Credit and cash grants for low income households. We ask central and local government to recognise that many food aid providers are already at capacity and unable to adopt additional responsibilities. The government's – significant – response to the economic crisis associated with COVID-19 has underscored a key principle: it is the government's responsibility to protect population health, to guarantee household incomes, and to safeguard the economy. Millions of households were in poverty before the pandemic, and millions more will be so unless the government continues to protect household incomes through policy change.
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Rachita Gupta and Ravi Shankar
Food insecurity is a major concern for developing economies. Operational inadequacies get introduced with unorganized interactions among stakeholders in the food supply chain…
Abstract
Purpose
Food insecurity is a major concern for developing economies. Operational inadequacies get introduced with unorganized interactions among stakeholders in the food supply chain, affecting social, economic, environmental and operational (SEEO) aspects of a nation. This study analyzes India's largest food safety net program, Public Distribution System (PDS) and develops a perception-based model, mapping the root causes (of food insecurity) with possible solutions. The novelty lies in leveraging blockchain in the implementation of food traceability system.
Design/methodology/approach
Soft system methodology (SSM) is used to identify and analyze problems in PDS, leveraging the learning and inquiry process. It relies on system thinking and action research to create a defendable and rational model, which helps in proposing recommendations for addressing the problem.
Findings
Blockchain-enabled food traceability system increases transparency, thus enabling the fulfillment of basic food necessities for beneficiaries.
Practical implications
The proposed model enables policymakers to build a profound understanding of existing operational issues and provides insightful recommendations for making informed decisions to deal with the grave issue of food insecurity.
Originality/value
Unlike previous studies, this research attempts to understand operational inefficiencies during interactions among stakeholders. It proposes a perception-based conceptual model for the final implementation at the ground level. It also reveals significance of three systems: a delivery system, an enabling system empowering delivery system and a criteria system to control and monitor processes. This study thus bridges an important gap in the literature by proposing a blockchain-driven traceability system, under the control of criteria system, through the integration of system-thinking and action-research approach.
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Sebastián Javier García-Dastugue, Rogelio García-Contreras, Kimberly Stauss, Thomas Milford and Rudolf Leuschner
Extant literature in supply chain management tends to address a portion of the product flow to make food accessible to clients in need. The authors present a broader view of food…
Abstract
Purpose
Extant literature in supply chain management tends to address a portion of the product flow to make food accessible to clients in need. The authors present a broader view of food insecurity and present nuances relevant to appreciate the complexities of dealing with this social problem.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted an inductive study to reveal the deep meaning of the context as managers of nonprofit organizations (NPO) define and address food insecurity. The focus was on a delimited geographic area for capturing interactions among NPOs which have not been described previously.
Findings
This study describes the role of supply chains collaborating in unexpected ways in the not-for-profit context, leading to interesting insights for the conceptual development of service ecosystems. This is relevant because the solution for the food insecure stems from the orchestration of assistance provided by the many supply chains for social assistance.
Research limitations/implications
The authors introduce two concepts: customer sharing and customer release. Customer sharing enables these supply chains behave like an ecosystem with no focal organization. Customer release is the opposite to customer retention, when the food insecure stops needing assistance.
Social implications
The authors describe the use of customer-centric measures of success such improved health measured. The solution to food insecurity for an individual is likely to be the result of the orchestration of assistance provided by several supply chains.
Originality/value
The authors started asking who the client is and how the NPOs define food insecurity, leading to discussing contrasts between food access and utilization, between hunger relief and nourishment, between assistance and solution of the problem, and between supply chains and ecosystems.
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This study aims at navigating the effects of climate change on the right to access to food within the East African Community region, using the case study of Uganda.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at navigating the effects of climate change on the right to access to food within the East African Community region, using the case study of Uganda.
Design/methodology/approach
The author used doctrinal review of different policies and strategies that have been developed and implemented by the EAC to address the growing patterns of food insecurity and climate change.
Findings
Findings show that besides climate change, there are other factors that have played a major role in contributing to food insecurity in the region such as the impact of the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, absence of food storage reserves/banks, scarring effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, inadequate implementation of agricultural policies on climate change, high post-harvest losses and food waste amongst others.
Originality/value
This research paper is the author’s sole writing and has never been submitted for publication in any journal.
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Ronald Ranta, Hilda Mary Mulrooney and Dee Bhakta
The purpose of this paper is to examine how food aid providers in Sussex and Southwest London responded and managed during the pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how food aid providers in Sussex and Southwest London responded and managed during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach consists of three inter-related layers. A qualitative description research approach based on naturalistic inquiry, supplemented by site visits and personal observations was used.
Findings
The pandemic catalysed dramatic, often positive, changes to the provision of food aid, with a move away from the traditional food bank model. It brought about increased coordination and oversight, as well as the upscaling of capabilities, infrastructure and provisions.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature on food aid in the UK It provides evidence for how providers are transforming the sector for the better and potentially helping to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
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Aung Kyaw Zaw and Sayamol Charoenratana
The central dry zone of Myanmar is a climatic risk area in which the inhabitants are experiencing food insecurity, demonstrating the link between water scarcity and climate risk…
Abstract
Purpose
The central dry zone of Myanmar is a climatic risk area in which the inhabitants are experiencing food insecurity, demonstrating the link between water scarcity and climate risk in agricultural production. Households in the region face the challenge of developing adaptation strategies to cope with the impact of climate change on food security. This study aims to seek an effective climate change solution and analyse its impact on Myanmar's food security and household adaptation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on insights from mixed-method research using a qualitative method followed by quantitative methods. In the qualitative phase, the authors used purposive sampling with two focus group discussions and three stakeholder interviews. In the quantitative phase, data were collected from 102 face-to-face interviews with members of households selected from Pauk Township, Pakokku District, Magway Region, Myanmar. The household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) was used in the analysis.
Findings
The HFIAS indicated that 13% of households have adapted to climate change. The study illustrates that climate change adaptation strategies in production activities are related to food insecurity. The results further demonstrated the effect of climate change on crops, which impacts debt, access to food, selling assets and urban migration. The findings also suggest that climate change adaptation to improve food security has played an important role in providing outside support, which leads to household food insecurity.
Originality/value
To the authors' best knowledge, the study is one of the first to use mixed-method research to investigate climate change, food security and household adaptation in the central dry zone of Myanmar.
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Yash Daultani, Ashish Dwivedi, Saurabh Pratap and Akshay Sharma
Natural disasters cause serious operational risks and disruptions, which further impact the food supply in and around the disaster-impacted area. Resilient functions in the supply…
Abstract
Purpose
Natural disasters cause serious operational risks and disruptions, which further impact the food supply in and around the disaster-impacted area. Resilient functions in the supply chain are required to absorb the impact of resultant disruptions in perishable food supply chains (FSC). The present study identifies specific resilient functions to overcome the problems created by natural disasters in the FSC context.
Design/methodology/approach
The quality function deployment (QFD) method is utilized for identifying these relations. Further, fuzzy term sets and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) are used to prioritize the identified problems. The results obtained are employed to construct a QFD matrix with the solutions, followed by the technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) on the house of quality (HOQ) matrix between the identified problems and functions.
Findings
The results from the study reflect that the shortage of employees in affected areas is the major problem caused by a natural disaster, followed by the food movement problem. The results from the analysis matrix conclude that information sharing should be kept at the highest priority by policymakers to build and increase resilient functions and sustainable crisis management in a perishable FSC network.
Originality/value
The study suggests practical implications for managing a FSC crisis during a natural disaster. The unique contribution of this research lies in finding the correlation and importance ranking among different resilience functions, which is crucial for managing a FSC crisis during a natural disaster.
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Sanjay Kumar Kar, Sidhartha Harichandan and Om Prakash
This empirical research intends to examine factors influencing the adoption of renewable energy (RE) using a conceptual model of the consumer decision-making process.
Abstract
Purpose
This empirical research intends to examine factors influencing the adoption of renewable energy (RE) using a conceptual model of the consumer decision-making process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a primary response-based survey to collect data from 668 respondents interested in adopting RE for their daily usage. The sample respondents were chosen through a multi-stage random stratified technique. The responses were analyzed through structural equation-based modeling techniques to discuss the findings and suggest further implications.
Findings
The findings suggest that factors like knowledge, policy incentives, sustainable development goals (SDGs-7, 11 and 13), socio-economic benefits and risk perception significantly impact the adoption of RE. Besides, risk perception mediates between environmental concerns and the adoption of RE. Also, age has a significant role in RE adoption.
Social implications
The study finds the critical role of government in introducing financial incentives to reduce the initial cost of renewable adoption. Doing so will also promote clean and equitable energy access to society leading to further fulfillment of SDGs. Additionally, steps like knowledge enrichment, designing suitable policies for a manufacturer and public-friendly renewable market development will further facilitate renewable adoption in society.
Originality/value
With an objective to study the public perception and attitude towards renewable adoption, this empirical research is the first of its kind to carry out a real-time survey of the Indian population and suggest policy implications which would benefit all the concerned stakeholders.
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