Finding innovative interventions for building food secure communities Food Ladders is a novel, ev... more Finding innovative interventions for building food secure communities Food Ladders is a novel, evidenced-based approach for creating household and community resilience by capitalising on the capacity of food to bring people together. Food Ladders is not like existing household food insecurity approaches that focus on the lack of good food within households and then feeds that gap. Instead, Food Ladders activates food and its related practices progressively to reduce local vulnerability to food insecurity and its knock-on effects. Specifically Food Ladders advocates for: • Mobilising the more than nutrient, calorie and commercial aspects of food, such as its capacity to bring people together to foster shared understanding and collaboration;
... Rice talks : food and community in a Vietnamese town / Nir Avieli. p. cm. ... My children, Zo... more ... Rice talks : food and community in a Vietnamese town / Nir Avieli. p. cm. ... My children, Zohar, Gilad, and Noam were born and grew up with this book, whose pages are stained with fish-sauce and milk. It is hardly appropriate to thank someone for what is es-sentially hers. ...
Food justice as a political intervention aims to reconfigure the ways in which access to and cont... more Food justice as a political intervention aims to reconfigure the ways in which access to and control over the food we eat is systematically biased against certain groups of people and certain places. The concept of food justice is one that is shaped by a particular form of pragmatic and progressive identity-based politics that reaches for a reworking of the food system in the longer term. At the same time, the food justice approach acknowledges that people and communities are hungry now, even in parts of the world that are characterised as lands of plenty. This chapter first considers how food injustice is made and remade within and through landscape processes that in turn produce what we might call unjust foodscapes. The chapter then explores the conceptual underpinnings and political orientation of food justice and its activism. By delving more deeply into the notion of access to food and its relationship to the landscape, the chapter also illustrates how some interventions—although seemingly compatible with food justice—are instead counterproductive. This chapter also identifies areas where further interrogation, for example by considering a wider array of landscape processes that may give rise to unjust landscapes and examining the separations and contradictions within and between food justice politics and action.
We all eat, but not all of us can access the food we need to live a healthy and active life. This... more We all eat, but not all of us can access the food we need to live a healthy and active life. This is true for those in wealthy and emerging countries. In most instances, it is the most vulnerable who bear this burden disproportionately. This unit explores the scales, causes, and consequences of food insecurity and who is most likely to experience hunger and hardship. This module is divided into four sections. The first section focuses on the global scale of food insecurity and how we have sought to increase food production and distribution to meet the worldwide need and year-round demand. The section concludes with a discussion of the food insecurity of those who produce the food needed to meet this demand (lessons 1–4). The second section (lessons 5–7) introduces the causes and effects of household-scale food insecurity through the concepts of access, foodscape, food desert, and affordability. The section also investigates the social implications of food insecurity, such as the loss of commensality. The third section (lessons 8–9) highlights two areas linked to systematic and disproportionate food insecurity burden in order to explore how Sen’s concept of entitlement can explain this. The final section (lesson 10) introduces ways that we have sought to meet the needs of people at the household scale who are food insecure and seeks to provide a critical interrogation of the role of food aid as a mechanism for addressing food insecurity. By the end of this unit, students should be able to do the following: 1. Define food insecurity and describe how it manifests itself at multiple geographical scales (e.g., the region, nation, city, household, and individual); 2. Identify the causes and effects of food insecurity and how these interconnect and reinforce each other across geographical scale; 3. Contextualize how disadvantage linked to different forms of inequality disproportionately creates hunger and hardship for some groups more than others; 4. Critically evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of different solutions to address food insecurity at both the global and household scale
There has been increasing interest in a targeted approach to the screening and prevention of lead... more There has been increasing interest in a targeted approach to the screening and prevention of lead exposure in children. Targeted screening requires an understanding of variation in lead exposure in individual children or by region. In order to better understand variation by region, we studied Rhode Island lead poisoning screening data, examining average lead exposure to children living in 136 Providence County census tracts (CTs). The study population included 17,956 children aged 59 months and under, who were screened between May 1, 1992, and April 30, 1993. We evaluated the relationship between the percentage of children with blood lead у10 g/dL (pe10) and sociodemographic and housing characteristics, derived from United States 1990 Census data, of these CTs. CT descriptors included population density, percentage of households receiving public assistance income, median per capita income, percentage of households female headed, percentage of houses owner occupied, percentage of houses built before 1950, percentage of houses vacant, percentage of population Black, percentage of recent immigrants, and intraurban mobility. On average, 109 children were screened in each census tract; mean screening rate was 44%. There was wide variation in average lead exposure among census tracts, with pe10 ranging from 3 to 60% of screened children (mean 27%). Individual census variables explained between 24 and 67% of the variance in pe10 among CTs. A multiple regression model including percentage screened, percentage of households receiving public assistance, percentage of houses built before 1950, ln (percentage of houses vacant), and percentage of recent immigrants explained 83% of variance in pe10. The percentage of houses built before 1950, a variable which models the presence of lead paint in old houses, displayed the largest adjusted effect on pe10 over the range observed for that variable in RI CTs. The percentage of houses vacant was also a highly significant and robust predictor; we suggest that vacancy is an ecological marker for the deterioration of leadbased paint, with higher vacancy neighborhoods containing houses in poorer condition. In Rhode Island, census tracts with high vacancy rates also have high rates of recent immigration, making immigrant groups vulnerable to lead exposure. Smallareas analysis may be useful in directing resources to high risk areas, explaining the sociocultural forces which produce such exposure and analyzing the effects of housing policy over time in states with high screening penetration.
This paper's contribution to research on food and social justice or food justice is threefold. Fi... more This paper's contribution to research on food and social justice or food justice is threefold. Firstly the paper considers how the processes that shape urban space also contribute to the production of food injustice. This intervention pushes the food justice literature to consider how contextual drivers linked to urban governance are key forces that shape access to food in cities. The second contribution critiques the current emphasis on race-based disadvantage and white privilege by considering how racism as an aspect of food injustice can have shifting influence. Finally, the vast majority of food justice research focuses on the United States, which goes some way toward explaining why race and white privilege play such an important role in current explanations. This paper draws on the context of Hong Kong to highlight how the ways in which place-making projects shift over time and how these spatial projects impact on food injustice. These three research interventions extend the concept and applicability of food justice to make it a more international concept, while at the same time open the concept out to new groups of people who also struggle to feed themselves.
Introduction The increasing variety and complex geographical organisation of families are notable... more Introduction The increasing variety and complex geographical organisation of families are notable social and demographic characteristics of many postindustrial societies (Duncan and Smith, 2002; Haskey, 1996). One family formation in particularöhouseholds in which both partners participate in the formal labour market öis playing an increasingly prominent role in production and social reproduction (Green, 1995; Hardill, 2002). In the USA such dual-earner households now constitute the majority (58.7%) of marriedcouple family formations (BLS, 1998). Thus, aggregate trends in migration behaviour, labour-market outcomes, and the nature of contemporary families will increasingly reference the context of the dual-earner household. This is important because, for example, the geographic mobility of these dual-earner households affects women's success in the labour market (Shields and Shields, 1993; Snaith, 1990). As is the case with any cohabiting or married-person household, partners in dualearner households organise themselves spatially and socially in order to balance`home' (typically, caring) and`work' (typically, paid employment) tasks (Hardill et al, 1997). Some commentators argue that the context of the dual-earner household imposes additional pressures on reaching a home^work balance, as both partners fulfil roles in paid employment (Rapoport and Rapoport, 1976). The geographic organisation of dual-earner households is particularly responsive to the challenges and opportunities faced by partners in balancing work and home tasks. Observed mobility strategies include long-distance migration, long-distance commuting, and families who are`living together apart' (Green et al, 1999; Jarvis, 1997; Winfield, 1985). Indeed, wider scholarship on the family recognises that the balancing of work and home tasks is of central concern to the partners in dual-earner households and the viability of their relationship (Perry-Jenkins et al, 2000).
This photo-essay focuses on the everyday spaces of Hong Kong. In particular it views an alternati... more This photo-essay focuses on the everyday spaces of Hong Kong. In particular it views an alternative landscape of Hong Kong peopled by poor who seek to make-do and get on with few resources. The focus is on hawking and market space. The photo-essay seeks to reveal the vibrancy in spaces that are not dominated by neoliberal ideologies. In doing so, it also seeks to illustrate the violence that is done to urban space and to the poor in particular when neoliberal ideologies are given full reign.
This is a repository copy of Building post-COVID community resilience by moving beyond emergency ... more This is a repository copy of Building post-COVID community resilience by moving beyond emergency food support.
This paper presents results of a hierarchical, fixed-question survey that sought responses about ... more This paper presents results of a hierarchical, fixed-question survey that sought responses about flexible machining cells, flexible labor cells, and concurrent changes in plant operations among nonelectrical machinery manufacturers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. General results indicate that the majority of firms in the American Midwest do not possess flexible manufacturing capability. Of those that do possess this capability, most adopted flexible labor cells prior to adopting flexible machining cells. These cells are small, employing relatively few workers and producing a limited line of products. While the adoption process has been plagued with training, scheduling, and integration problems, most plant managers are pleased with the performance of their flexible manufacturing cells. Management has been reluctant to break out of traditional relationships with suppliers, to trim levels of management and to explore strategic alliances with competitors. Survey results are disaggregated by year, size, positon-in-organization, and by union affiliation.
This research considers the relationship between neoliberalism, poverty and food insecurity and h... more This research considers the relationship between neoliberalism, poverty and food insecurity and how this impacts on the ability of a community to self-organise and become resilient. Specifically, it examines shocks imposed by the implementation of austerity policy and neoliberal welfare reform and the longer term individualisation that gives rise to greater vulnerability to such shocks and how community organisations encourage different levels of resilience in the face of this. Original findings from case study and qualitative analysis are twofold. Firstly, food insecurity effects are not only hunger and poor health experienced at the individual scale, but they also extend into places through the loss of social networks, erosion of community spaces, denigration of local foodscapes and collective de-skilling that limits the community resources needed for self-organising. Secondly, the ways in which food support is provided in communities has implications for how communities can regain the resources they need to be able to enact resilience in the face of trouble and difficulty. As such, the research demonstrates that self-organising is more than free-time activity; in these conditions, the capacity to self-organise is a vital community asset that is necessary for building resilience and social sustainability. As such, policy responses to poverty should take a multi-scale approach.
ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2007
While Participatory Action Research (PAR) is gaining a foothold in geographical research practice... more While Participatory Action Research (PAR) is gaining a foothold in geographical research practice, universities and major funding bodies are imposing ethics review procedures that are inherently contradictory to doing PAR. This paper examines these paradoxes paying particular attention to the way that research participants and researchers are constructed differently in PAR and ethics review. The implications of these differences are then examined in the context of an ongoing research project and some modifications to ethics review processes are suggested.
: We examine spatial variation in childhood lead poisoning within two industrial counties in New ... more : We examine spatial variation in childhood lead poisoning within two industrial counties in New England: Worcester County, Massachusetts, and Providence County, Rhode Island. The findings suggest that lead exposure is linked to the differential patterns of urbanization and industrial activity and that a history of abatement can reduce lead exposure. Lead exposure in census tracts with minority neighborhoods varies in complex ways between the counties. We conclude that attention to local context forms an essential component of understanding how public health interventions will continue to affect the geography of childhood lead poisoning.
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf ... more Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
Finding innovative interventions for building food secure communities Food Ladders is a novel, ev... more Finding innovative interventions for building food secure communities Food Ladders is a novel, evidenced-based approach for creating household and community resilience by capitalising on the capacity of food to bring people together. Food Ladders is not like existing household food insecurity approaches that focus on the lack of good food within households and then feeds that gap. Instead, Food Ladders activates food and its related practices progressively to reduce local vulnerability to food insecurity and its knock-on effects. Specifically Food Ladders advocates for: • Mobilising the more than nutrient, calorie and commercial aspects of food, such as its capacity to bring people together to foster shared understanding and collaboration;
... Rice talks : food and community in a Vietnamese town / Nir Avieli. p. cm. ... My children, Zo... more ... Rice talks : food and community in a Vietnamese town / Nir Avieli. p. cm. ... My children, Zohar, Gilad, and Noam were born and grew up with this book, whose pages are stained with fish-sauce and milk. It is hardly appropriate to thank someone for what is es-sentially hers. ...
Food justice as a political intervention aims to reconfigure the ways in which access to and cont... more Food justice as a political intervention aims to reconfigure the ways in which access to and control over the food we eat is systematically biased against certain groups of people and certain places. The concept of food justice is one that is shaped by a particular form of pragmatic and progressive identity-based politics that reaches for a reworking of the food system in the longer term. At the same time, the food justice approach acknowledges that people and communities are hungry now, even in parts of the world that are characterised as lands of plenty. This chapter first considers how food injustice is made and remade within and through landscape processes that in turn produce what we might call unjust foodscapes. The chapter then explores the conceptual underpinnings and political orientation of food justice and its activism. By delving more deeply into the notion of access to food and its relationship to the landscape, the chapter also illustrates how some interventions—although seemingly compatible with food justice—are instead counterproductive. This chapter also identifies areas where further interrogation, for example by considering a wider array of landscape processes that may give rise to unjust landscapes and examining the separations and contradictions within and between food justice politics and action.
We all eat, but not all of us can access the food we need to live a healthy and active life. This... more We all eat, but not all of us can access the food we need to live a healthy and active life. This is true for those in wealthy and emerging countries. In most instances, it is the most vulnerable who bear this burden disproportionately. This unit explores the scales, causes, and consequences of food insecurity and who is most likely to experience hunger and hardship. This module is divided into four sections. The first section focuses on the global scale of food insecurity and how we have sought to increase food production and distribution to meet the worldwide need and year-round demand. The section concludes with a discussion of the food insecurity of those who produce the food needed to meet this demand (lessons 1–4). The second section (lessons 5–7) introduces the causes and effects of household-scale food insecurity through the concepts of access, foodscape, food desert, and affordability. The section also investigates the social implications of food insecurity, such as the loss of commensality. The third section (lessons 8–9) highlights two areas linked to systematic and disproportionate food insecurity burden in order to explore how Sen’s concept of entitlement can explain this. The final section (lesson 10) introduces ways that we have sought to meet the needs of people at the household scale who are food insecure and seeks to provide a critical interrogation of the role of food aid as a mechanism for addressing food insecurity. By the end of this unit, students should be able to do the following: 1. Define food insecurity and describe how it manifests itself at multiple geographical scales (e.g., the region, nation, city, household, and individual); 2. Identify the causes and effects of food insecurity and how these interconnect and reinforce each other across geographical scale; 3. Contextualize how disadvantage linked to different forms of inequality disproportionately creates hunger and hardship for some groups more than others; 4. Critically evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of different solutions to address food insecurity at both the global and household scale
There has been increasing interest in a targeted approach to the screening and prevention of lead... more There has been increasing interest in a targeted approach to the screening and prevention of lead exposure in children. Targeted screening requires an understanding of variation in lead exposure in individual children or by region. In order to better understand variation by region, we studied Rhode Island lead poisoning screening data, examining average lead exposure to children living in 136 Providence County census tracts (CTs). The study population included 17,956 children aged 59 months and under, who were screened between May 1, 1992, and April 30, 1993. We evaluated the relationship between the percentage of children with blood lead у10 g/dL (pe10) and sociodemographic and housing characteristics, derived from United States 1990 Census data, of these CTs. CT descriptors included population density, percentage of households receiving public assistance income, median per capita income, percentage of households female headed, percentage of houses owner occupied, percentage of houses built before 1950, percentage of houses vacant, percentage of population Black, percentage of recent immigrants, and intraurban mobility. On average, 109 children were screened in each census tract; mean screening rate was 44%. There was wide variation in average lead exposure among census tracts, with pe10 ranging from 3 to 60% of screened children (mean 27%). Individual census variables explained between 24 and 67% of the variance in pe10 among CTs. A multiple regression model including percentage screened, percentage of households receiving public assistance, percentage of houses built before 1950, ln (percentage of houses vacant), and percentage of recent immigrants explained 83% of variance in pe10. The percentage of houses built before 1950, a variable which models the presence of lead paint in old houses, displayed the largest adjusted effect on pe10 over the range observed for that variable in RI CTs. The percentage of houses vacant was also a highly significant and robust predictor; we suggest that vacancy is an ecological marker for the deterioration of leadbased paint, with higher vacancy neighborhoods containing houses in poorer condition. In Rhode Island, census tracts with high vacancy rates also have high rates of recent immigration, making immigrant groups vulnerable to lead exposure. Smallareas analysis may be useful in directing resources to high risk areas, explaining the sociocultural forces which produce such exposure and analyzing the effects of housing policy over time in states with high screening penetration.
This paper's contribution to research on food and social justice or food justice is threefold. Fi... more This paper's contribution to research on food and social justice or food justice is threefold. Firstly the paper considers how the processes that shape urban space also contribute to the production of food injustice. This intervention pushes the food justice literature to consider how contextual drivers linked to urban governance are key forces that shape access to food in cities. The second contribution critiques the current emphasis on race-based disadvantage and white privilege by considering how racism as an aspect of food injustice can have shifting influence. Finally, the vast majority of food justice research focuses on the United States, which goes some way toward explaining why race and white privilege play such an important role in current explanations. This paper draws on the context of Hong Kong to highlight how the ways in which place-making projects shift over time and how these spatial projects impact on food injustice. These three research interventions extend the concept and applicability of food justice to make it a more international concept, while at the same time open the concept out to new groups of people who also struggle to feed themselves.
Introduction The increasing variety and complex geographical organisation of families are notable... more Introduction The increasing variety and complex geographical organisation of families are notable social and demographic characteristics of many postindustrial societies (Duncan and Smith, 2002; Haskey, 1996). One family formation in particularöhouseholds in which both partners participate in the formal labour market öis playing an increasingly prominent role in production and social reproduction (Green, 1995; Hardill, 2002). In the USA such dual-earner households now constitute the majority (58.7%) of marriedcouple family formations (BLS, 1998). Thus, aggregate trends in migration behaviour, labour-market outcomes, and the nature of contemporary families will increasingly reference the context of the dual-earner household. This is important because, for example, the geographic mobility of these dual-earner households affects women's success in the labour market (Shields and Shields, 1993; Snaith, 1990). As is the case with any cohabiting or married-person household, partners in dualearner households organise themselves spatially and socially in order to balance`home' (typically, caring) and`work' (typically, paid employment) tasks (Hardill et al, 1997). Some commentators argue that the context of the dual-earner household imposes additional pressures on reaching a home^work balance, as both partners fulfil roles in paid employment (Rapoport and Rapoport, 1976). The geographic organisation of dual-earner households is particularly responsive to the challenges and opportunities faced by partners in balancing work and home tasks. Observed mobility strategies include long-distance migration, long-distance commuting, and families who are`living together apart' (Green et al, 1999; Jarvis, 1997; Winfield, 1985). Indeed, wider scholarship on the family recognises that the balancing of work and home tasks is of central concern to the partners in dual-earner households and the viability of their relationship (Perry-Jenkins et al, 2000).
This photo-essay focuses on the everyday spaces of Hong Kong. In particular it views an alternati... more This photo-essay focuses on the everyday spaces of Hong Kong. In particular it views an alternative landscape of Hong Kong peopled by poor who seek to make-do and get on with few resources. The focus is on hawking and market space. The photo-essay seeks to reveal the vibrancy in spaces that are not dominated by neoliberal ideologies. In doing so, it also seeks to illustrate the violence that is done to urban space and to the poor in particular when neoliberal ideologies are given full reign.
This is a repository copy of Building post-COVID community resilience by moving beyond emergency ... more This is a repository copy of Building post-COVID community resilience by moving beyond emergency food support.
This paper presents results of a hierarchical, fixed-question survey that sought responses about ... more This paper presents results of a hierarchical, fixed-question survey that sought responses about flexible machining cells, flexible labor cells, and concurrent changes in plant operations among nonelectrical machinery manufacturers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. General results indicate that the majority of firms in the American Midwest do not possess flexible manufacturing capability. Of those that do possess this capability, most adopted flexible labor cells prior to adopting flexible machining cells. These cells are small, employing relatively few workers and producing a limited line of products. While the adoption process has been plagued with training, scheduling, and integration problems, most plant managers are pleased with the performance of their flexible manufacturing cells. Management has been reluctant to break out of traditional relationships with suppliers, to trim levels of management and to explore strategic alliances with competitors. Survey results are disaggregated by year, size, positon-in-organization, and by union affiliation.
This research considers the relationship between neoliberalism, poverty and food insecurity and h... more This research considers the relationship between neoliberalism, poverty and food insecurity and how this impacts on the ability of a community to self-organise and become resilient. Specifically, it examines shocks imposed by the implementation of austerity policy and neoliberal welfare reform and the longer term individualisation that gives rise to greater vulnerability to such shocks and how community organisations encourage different levels of resilience in the face of this. Original findings from case study and qualitative analysis are twofold. Firstly, food insecurity effects are not only hunger and poor health experienced at the individual scale, but they also extend into places through the loss of social networks, erosion of community spaces, denigration of local foodscapes and collective de-skilling that limits the community resources needed for self-organising. Secondly, the ways in which food support is provided in communities has implications for how communities can regain the resources they need to be able to enact resilience in the face of trouble and difficulty. As such, the research demonstrates that self-organising is more than free-time activity; in these conditions, the capacity to self-organise is a vital community asset that is necessary for building resilience and social sustainability. As such, policy responses to poverty should take a multi-scale approach.
ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2007
While Participatory Action Research (PAR) is gaining a foothold in geographical research practice... more While Participatory Action Research (PAR) is gaining a foothold in geographical research practice, universities and major funding bodies are imposing ethics review procedures that are inherently contradictory to doing PAR. This paper examines these paradoxes paying particular attention to the way that research participants and researchers are constructed differently in PAR and ethics review. The implications of these differences are then examined in the context of an ongoing research project and some modifications to ethics review processes are suggested.
: We examine spatial variation in childhood lead poisoning within two industrial counties in New ... more : We examine spatial variation in childhood lead poisoning within two industrial counties in New England: Worcester County, Massachusetts, and Providence County, Rhode Island. The findings suggest that lead exposure is linked to the differential patterns of urbanization and industrial activity and that a history of abatement can reduce lead exposure. Lead exposure in census tracts with minority neighborhoods varies in complex ways between the counties. We conclude that attention to local context forms an essential component of understanding how public health interventions will continue to affect the geography of childhood lead poisoning.
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf ... more Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
This chapter outlines food insecurity and how it manifested itself during the initial lockdown pe... more This chapter outlines food insecurity and how it manifested itself during the initial lockdown period. It discusses how local authorities and food providers responded to the crisis and their increasing realisation that a longer-term solution is needed. It proposes the Food Ladders framework that mobilises resilience thinking as a way to evaluate food projects at the local scale as well as the food landscapes (foodscapes). The Food Ladders framework adopts a practice approach to understanding how food using activities enact resilience practice to achieve different outcomes concerning the availability and affordability of food as well as being a means to enable the social connectivity needed to provide mutual aid and support. While many localities are now adopting this framework to provide support within their communities, there remain structural barriers that pose a threat to the ability of these place-based interventions to succeed. The final section highlights some of these threats and suggests areas for further research and intervention to ease the way for local scale resilience to be enacted.
Food justice as a political intervention aims to reconfigure the ways in which access to and cont... more Food justice as a political intervention aims to reconfigure the ways in which access to and control over the food we eat is systematically biased against certain groups of people and certain places. The concept of food justice is one that is shaped by a particular form of pragmatic and progressive identity-based politics that reaches for a reworking of the food system in the longer term. At the same time, the food justice approach acknowledges that people and communities are hungry now, even in parts of the world that are characterised as lands of plenty. This chapter first considers how food injustice is made and remade within and through landscape processes that in turn produce what we might call unjust foodscapes. The chapter then explores the conceptual underpinnings and political orientation of food justice and its activism. By delving more deeply into the notion of access to food and its relationship to the landscape, the chapter also illustrates how some interventions—although seemingly compatible with food justice—are instead counterproductive. This chapter also identifies areas where further interrogation, for example by considering a wider array of landscape processes that may give rise to unjust landscapes and examining the separations and contradictions within and between food justice politics and action.
Women have lots of 'head trash' related to their upbringing and the stereotypical roles that we a... more Women have lots of 'head trash' related to their upbringing and the stereotypical roles that we are expected to conform to: caretaking, carrying on the mindset of our mothers and grandmothers.
The case study organisations illustrate there is a wealth of creativity and ingenuity in the ways... more The case study organisations illustrate there is a wealth of creativity and ingenuity in the ways that community-based organisations provide food-based activity to their communities. FareShare is in a good place to help them celebrate and recognise this good work collectively. Collective recognition not only enables good practice and innovation to spread, but it opens doors to competitive funding streams that so many organisations rely upon. Many organisations also want to expand what they do with food in order to create more social value in their communities. Currently many have to devote time and effort in a bid to reinvent the wheel as they add a new service because there is a lack of accessible practical information about what should be considered. Given that time is a valuable resource to these organisations, finding ways to release that time back to the community is important. While this report speaks to the positive outcomes from organisations that are using food as a means to help communities to re-connect and help individuals to overcome loneliness, there is still much that could be done to support this work further. Our national loneliness strategy places much of its focus on identifying and then moving people back into their communities through social prescribing and transportation improvements, but it pays little consideration to supporting what people will do when they get there. Community organisations and the food they use are vital to this equation and more support from national and local government should be directed toward supporting community-based food activity. Furthermore, the food industry should be encouraged to better understand and then to help extract the social value out of surplus food.
An introduction to the Food Ladders approach with recommendations for local authorities, food all... more An introduction to the Food Ladders approach with recommendations for local authorities, food alliances, charities, and industry.
Food Ladders is a novel, evidenced-based approach for creating household and community resilience... more Food Ladders is a novel, evidenced-based approach for creating household and community resilience by capitalising on the capacity of food to bring people together. Food Ladders is not like existing household food insecurity approaches that focus on the lack of good food within households and then feeds that gap. Instead, Food Ladders activates food and its related practices progressively to reduce local vulnerability to food insecurity and its knock-on effects. Specifically Food Ladders advocates for: • Mobilising the more than nutrient, calorie and commercial aspects of food, such as its capacity to bring people together to foster shared understanding and collaboration; • Creating safe and inclusive spaces for experimentation and interaction with food; • Using a positive language of empowerment around food; • Building place-specific levels of support that enable the recognition and enhancement of locally based assets to create transformations in communities.
Overview: There is an emerging context of social support withdrawal as a result of funding withdr... more Overview: There is an emerging context of social support withdrawal as a result of funding withdrawal by central government is creating a context within which individuals, households and communities are having to increasingly seek support from third-sector organisations in the UK. This is happening through: ⇒ The introduction and eventual rollout of Universal Credit are likely to contribute further to these inequalities, but there also may be opportunities for improving diets. ⇒ There is a squeeze on the abilities of local authorities to support their communities as local authority remits have expanded to include addressing diet-related public health and public health inequalities, which include health inequalities that arise out of food poverty. Local authorities will also become responsible for supporting the way in which individuals and families will have to cope with the transition to Universal Credit. At the same time, as local authority remits are expanding they are facing draconian cuts to their budgets such that there are staff reductions resulting in cuts to the capacity of the LA to deliver programmes. ⇒ There has been a rise in community and third-sector organisations who are concerned with helping to reduce health inequalities by helping to reduce food poverty. Given the importance that resilience is playing in helping local authorities to resolve the gaps that austerity is creating, it is clear that more research is needed that examines the dimensions of resilience (adapting, coping, transforming). Specifically with regard to how: ⇒ Activities within these three areas can contribute to different scales of resilience (individual, household, community, and local authority area); ⇒ How collectively activities within an area contribute to a landscape of resilience enabling support. A more collaborative approach may enable local authorities to better work with these third-sector organisations to realise the possibilities that partnership could provide. Recommendations for more collaborative working are detailed in this report and are based on community-based research, participant observation, consultation with community organisations and local authorities, and the outcomes of a co-production workshop.
This infographic summarises research from an ESRC IAA grant examining community resilience in the... more This infographic summarises research from an ESRC IAA grant examining community resilience in the face of a food system where there is food poverty and rising rates of obesity, particularly among the poor. The research finds that some communities have a lower percentage of children who are overweight and obese than the model predicts for communities in the local authority. When investigated through a case study, we suspect that third sector organisations are key to this resilience, but also that the relationship between these organisations and the local authority needs to be addressed to achieve greater impact from third sector work. A participatory SWOT workshop was also carried out to consider what the dimensions of this working together might need. There is also a need for further research around the impact of third sector organisations and more data that captures their overall contribution to community, local authority, regional, and national wellbeing.
Overview: There is an emerging context of social support withdrawal as a result of funding withdr... more Overview: There is an emerging context of social support withdrawal as a result of funding withdrawal by central government is creating a context within which individuals, households and communities are having to increasingly seek support from third-sector organisations in the UK. This is happening through: ⇒ The introduction and eventual rollout of Universal Credit are likely to contribute further to these inequalities, but there also may be opportunities for improving diets. ⇒ A squeeze on the abilities of local authorities to support their communities as local authority remits have expanded to include addressing diet-related public health and public health inequalities, which include health inequalities that arise out of food poverty. Local authorities will also become responsible for supporting the way in which individuals and families will have to cope with the transition to Universal Credit. At the same time, as local authority remits are expanding they are facing draconian cuts to their budgets such that there are staff reductions resulting in cuts to the capacity of the LA to deliver programmes. ⇒ There has been a rise in community and third-sector organisations who are concerned with helping to reduce health inequalities by helping to reduce food poverty. Given the importance that resilience is playing in helping local authorities to resolve the gaps that austerity is creating, it is clear that more research is needed that examines the dimensions of resilience (adapting, coping, transforming). Specifically with regard to how: ⇒ Activities within these three areas can contributing to different scales of resilience (individual, household, community, and local authority area); ⇒ How collectively activities within an area contribute to a landscape of resilience enabling support. A more collaborative approach may enable local authorities to better work with these third-sector organisations to best realise the possibilities that partnership could provide. Recommendations for more collaborative working are detailed in this report and are based on community-based research, participant observation, consultation with community organisations and local authorities, and the outcomes of a co-production workshop.
In this article I discuss the importance of building resilience into communities by supporting th... more In this article I discuss the importance of building resilience into communities by supporting the creation of social connections. This has become particularly evident in this COVID period.
This short film discusses the positive impacts of surplus food for community use. The community ... more This short film discusses the positive impacts of surplus food for community use. The community organisations represented in this film use good food that is within date and edible, but would otherwise be wasted to support community activities. The accounts demonstrate not only the food needs of these communities but what food enables beyond addressing the needs associated with hunger.
One in every five people in the UK today are living in poverty-that is, living with a household i... more One in every five people in the UK today are living in poverty-that is, living with a household income below 60% of the median national income when housing costs are considered. And according to recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, two thirds of children in poverty live in a working family. These rates are expected to increase sharply by 2021-22, assuming there is no change in government policy. Poverty is linked directly to how people access food. A recent Social Market Foundation (SMF) study confirms a growing body of academic research that shows that food is a key component of household budgets. When these budgets are stretched, families trade down on their food choices. One in three low income households in the survey indicate that they purchase cheaper and less healthy food in order to make their budgets stretch. Many adults reported cutting back on their own food consumption so that others in their family, such as children, can eat. Geography plays an important role in the affordability of food. The cost of food available to people will depend on what format of shop is located in an area, for example. Research by the consumer charity Which? shows that convenience shops charge more for the same items compared to larger format Invest in experts. Donate now and help share their message with a global audience.
Hardly a day goes by when food is not in the news. We are at once encouraged to eat healthily, lo... more Hardly a day goes by when food is not in the news. We are at once encouraged to eat healthily, locally, and reduce food waste. Meanwhile, stories about the various groups of people going hungry are also on the rise -there are reports about malnourished elderly people, children's holiday hunger, and rising food insecurity. Increases in these rates have been linked to government policies such as welfare reform and commercial protections that give rise to zero-hours contracts. But in my view the problem is deeper than this -it is embedded in the way we talk about food. The language we use is confusing -it creates feelings of guilt and enhances social divisions.
This PowerPoint presentation outlines the Food Ladders approach.
Finding innovative interventi... more This PowerPoint presentation outlines the Food Ladders approach.
Finding innovative interventions for building food secure communities Food Ladders is a novel, evidence-based approach for creating household and community resilience by capitalizing on the capacity for food to bring people together. Food Ladders is not like existing household food insecurity approaches that focus on the lack of good food within households and then feeds that gap. Instead Food Ladders activates food and its related practices progressively to reduce local vulnerability to food insecurity and its knock-on effects.
Specifically Food Ladders advocates for: Mobilising the more than nutrient, calorie and commercial aspects of food, such as its capacity to bring people together to foster shared understanding and collaboration; Creating safe and inclusive spaces for experimentation and interaction with food; Using a positive language of empowerment around food; Building place-specific levels of support that enable the recognition and enhancement of locally based assets to create transformations in communities.
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While this report speaks to the positive outcomes from organisations that are using food as a means to help communities to re-connect and help individuals to overcome loneliness, there is still much that could be done to support this work further. Our national loneliness strategy places much of its focus on identifying and then moving people back into their communities through social prescribing and transportation improvements, but it pays little consideration to supporting what people will do when they get there. Community organisations and the food they use are vital to this equation and more support from national and local government should be directed toward supporting community-based food activity. Furthermore, the food industry should be encouraged to better understand and then to help extract the social value out of surplus food.
Finding innovative interventions for building food secure communities
Food Ladders is a novel, evidence-based approach for creating household and community resilience by capitalizing on the capacity for food to bring people together. Food Ladders is not like existing household food insecurity approaches that focus on the lack of good food within households and then feeds that gap. Instead Food Ladders activates food and its related practices progressively to reduce local vulnerability to food insecurity and its knock-on effects.
Specifically Food Ladders advocates for:
Mobilising the more than nutrient, calorie and commercial aspects of food, such as its capacity to bring people together to foster shared understanding and collaboration;
Creating safe and inclusive spaces for experimentation and interaction with food;
Using a positive language of empowerment around food;
Building place-specific levels of support that enable the recognition and enhancement of locally based assets to create transformations in communities.