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Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Madeleine Power, Neil Small, Bob Doherty, Barbara Stewart-Knox and Kate E. Pickett

This paper uses data from a city with a multi-ethnic, multi-faith population to better understand faith-based food aid. The paper aims to understand what constitutes faith-based…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper uses data from a city with a multi-ethnic, multi-faith population to better understand faith-based food aid. The paper aims to understand what constitutes faith-based responses to food insecurity, compare the prevalence and nature of faith-based food aid across different religions and explore how community food aid meets the needs of a multi-ethnic, multi-faith population.

Design/methodology/approach

The study involved two phases of primary research. In Phase 1, desk-based research and dialogue with stakeholders in local food security programmes were used to identify faith-based responses to food insecurity. Phase 2 consisted of 18 semi-structured interviews involving faith-based and secular charitable food aid organizations.

Findings

The paper illustrates the internal heterogeneity of faith-based food aid. Faith-based food aid is highly prevalent and the vast majority is Christian. Doctrine is a key motivation among Christian organizations for their provision of food. The fact that the clients at faith-based, particularly Christian, food aid did not reflect the local religious demographic is a cause for concern in light of the entry-barriers identified. This concern is heightened by the co-option of faith-based organizations by the state as part of the “Big Society” agenda.

Originality/value

This is the first academic study in the UK to look at the faith-based arrangements of Christian and Muslim food aid providers, to set out what it means to provide faith-based food aid in the UK and to explore how faith-based food aid interacts with people of other religions and no religion.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 20 August 2016

Sedef Sert, Paola Garrone, Marco Melacini and Alessandro Perego

This chapter highlights factors, such as stakeholder engagement and changes in operating processes, which can enable retailers to implement an alternative approach to recovering…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter highlights factors, such as stakeholder engagement and changes in operating processes, which can enable retailers to implement an alternative approach to recovering and redistributing fresh surplus food.

Methodology/approach

A successful fresh surplus food redistribution program was identified as part of a larger research project on food waste and redistribution. The “Buon Fine” program of a large Italian retailer (Coop Lombardia) was described by two senior executives who were interviewed for four hours using a semi-structured questionnaire. Collected information was triangulated with corporate reports and other publications.

Findings

Coop Lombardia implemented an expanded supply chain by cooperating with municipalities and food aid organizations. Such a process differed in important ways from the traditional “food bank” model. The latter organizations collected and distributed surplus food to disfavored populations.

Originality/value

The findings of this chapter will help senior executives of retail trade companies to improve the sustainability of their supply chain and help policymakers address food poverty to improve food security in their territory.

Details

Organizing Supply Chain Processes for Sustainable Innovation in the Agri-Food Industry
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-488-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2022

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.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2010

Winston Moore and Sunielle Stanford

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main determinants of dependency on food aid programmes. Food aid may take the form of a loan, a sale below market price or a…

1587

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main determinants of dependency on food aid programmes. Food aid may take the form of a loan, a sale below market price or a current transfer. Food aid programmes across the globe are generally designed to provide short‐term assistance to countries. However, many countries have developed a dependence on food aid assistance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper estimates cross‐sectional regressions using a database containing 116 developing countries over the period 1970‐2003. Bayesian averaging of classical estimates is employed to identify the robust determinants of dependency.

Findings

The study finds that the top two determinants of food aid dependence (both cereals and non‐cereals) were food production and the frequency of droughts affecting the country. Food inflation, population density, crop yields, the amount of arable land per capita, the rule of law and the number of armed conflicts were also robustly related to aid dependence.

Practical implications

These findings suggest that international donors should focus primarily on offsetting the substitution effect of aid on local production as well as implement systems to partially offset the negative effects of droughts, if they are to break the cycle of dependence on food aid.

Originality/value

Previous studies have investigated the effects of a large number of other variables. The findings from these papers were somewhat conflicting due to differences in model specification. To identify the variables that have a robust relationship with food aid dependence, whatever the model specification, the Bayesian averaging of classical estimates approach proposed by Sala‐i‐Martin et al. is employed.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 37 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 May 2020

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…

2015

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.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 July 2018

Sedef Sert, Paola Garrone, Marco Melacini and Alessandro Perego

The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of motives behind corporate giving and at finding out whether and when operational efficiency plays a major role in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of motives behind corporate giving and at finding out whether and when operational efficiency plays a major role in the case of surplus food donations by food supply chain companies.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study methodology has been applied considering a sample of 16 food sector companies operating in Italy. Three cases have been analyzed in-depth to highlight the contextual factors that make cost savings possible and donations sizeable and regular.

Findings

The results show that the willingness of companies to reduce operational costs plays a relevant role in managerial decisions concerning the recovery and donation of unsold food, although to different degrees across the supply chain stages.

Originality/value

The paper shows that not only strategic and moral motives, but also economic efficiency concern plays an important role in the managerial decision-making process pertaining to surplus food donations.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 120 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 November 2020

Caroline Sundgren

New actors have emerged in the food supply chain in response to the increased awareness of food waste and the need to distribute surplus food. The purpose of this study is to…

Abstract

Purpose

New actors have emerged in the food supply chain in response to the increased awareness of food waste and the need to distribute surplus food. The purpose of this study is to analyse the different supply chain structures that have emerged to make surplus food available to consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a qualitative multiple-case study of three new surplus food actors: a surplus food platform, an online retailer and a surplus food terminal. Data sources included interviews, documentary evidence and participatory observations.

Findings

Three different types of actor constellations in surplus food distribution have been identified: a triad, a tetrad and a chain. Both centralised (for ambient products) and decentralised supply chain structures (for chilled products) have emerged. The analysis identified weak links amongst new actors and surplus food suppliers. The new actors have adopted the roles of connector, service provider and logistics service provider and the sub-roles of mediator, auditor and consultant.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to research on closed-loop or circular supply chains for the reuse of products in the context of surplus food distribution.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management , vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 November 2023

Emmanuel Acquah Sawyerr, Michael Bourlakis, Damien Conrad and Carol Wagstaff

This paper explores the nature and operations of the supply chain that serves disadvantaged groups. With the increasing reliance on supplementary food provision through food aid

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the nature and operations of the supply chain that serves disadvantaged groups. With the increasing reliance on supplementary food provision through food aid, the authors seek to emphasise efficiency and sustainability in these supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interview data from 32 senior managers and experts from both commercial and food aid supply chains were abductively analysed to develop a relationship-based map of the food chains that serve disadvantaged groups.

Findings

Disadvantaged groups are served by a hybrid food supply chain. It is an interconnected supply chain bringing together the commercial and the food aid supply chains. This chain is unsurprisingly plagued with various challenges, the most critical of which are limited expertise and resources, operational inefficiencies, prohibitive logistics costs and a severe lack of collaboration.

Originality/value

This study identifies the currently limited role of logistics companies in surplus food redistribution and highlights future pathways. Additionally, the authors present useful actionable propositions for managers, practitioners and policymakers.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 March 2018

Elif Stepman, Mieke Uyttendaele, Elien De Boeck and Liesbeth Jacxsens

As food aid is still for a great part dependent upon the donation of food surplus and as the number of persons relying on food charities is increasing, it is important to further…

Abstract

Purpose

As food aid is still for a great part dependent upon the donation of food surplus and as the number of persons relying on food charities is increasing, it is important to further investigate which donation system responds best to the needs of the beneficiaries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the needs regarding the format and content of the food parcels in a selected social service in Ghent, Belgium. The “format” relates to how the food parcels are distributed, the “content” to the usability of the food products and whether additional products currently not offered are required by the beneficiaries.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a qualitative study at a selected food charity in Ghent, using a semi-structured in-depth interview with 30 respondents who receive food parcels.

Findings

The food parcel beneficiaries report the need for freedom of choice regarding the offered food products (format). Fixed food parcels should be avoided. Also a need for more vegetables, milk, fresh (halal) meat and meat products was expressed (content), even though the charity purchased a great deal of additional “standard” food products to provide nutritious and varied food parcels. It should be further investigated whether other donation systems such as social groceries or restaurants meet the needs of the beneficiaries to a greater extent, or whether certain adjustments such as purchasing even more standard food products are possible to uphold.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge this research is one of the first scientific studies addressing the needs of food parcel receivers in Belgium. It forms a basis for investigating which type of food donation answers best to the needs of the beneficiaries in Belgium or in other countries.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 120 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 August 2018

Susan Albers Mohrman and Stu Winby

We argue that in order to address the contemporary challenges that organizations and societies are facing, the field of organization development (OD) requires frameworks and…

Abstract

We argue that in order to address the contemporary challenges that organizations and societies are facing, the field of organization development (OD) requires frameworks and skills to focus on the eco-system as the level of analysis. In a world that has become economically, socially, and technologically highly connected, approaches that foster the optimization of specific actors in the eco-system, such as individual corporations, result in sub-optimization of the sustainability of the natural and social system because there is insufficient offset to the ego-centric purposes of the focal organization. We discuss the need for OD to broaden focus to deal with technological advances that enable new ways of organizing at the eco-system level, and to deal with the challenges to sustainable development. Case examples from healthcare and the agri-foods industry illustrate the kinds of development approaches that are required for the development of healthy eco-systems. We do not suggest fundamental changes in the identity of the field of organizational development. In fact, we demonstrate the need to dig deeply into the open systems and socio-technical roots of the field, and to translate the traditional values and approaches of OD to continue to be relevant in today’s dynamic interdependent world.

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