#RightsNotCharity

Tag: Food Poverty

COVID Realities – Mobilizing UK Parents and Carers on a Low Income

In October 2021, households across the UK faced one of the biggest cuts to social security rates in recent history. The government reversed a 20 pound-per-week benefit to universal credit that had been introduced during the pandemic. This benefit cut is now projected to plunge a further half a million people, including 200,000 children, into poverty. The irony of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s platform of ‘leveling up’ seems to have been lost on him. In some cases, the extra 20 pound-per-week benefit kept many struggling families from relying on food banks, where recipients often feel demeaned. Their experiences were documented in a partnership between researchers, parents, carers, and the charity Child Poverty Action Group, who have been collectively advocating for policies that would allow people to nourish and support their families. Despite the recent cut to the UK’s social security, caregivers on low incomes have succeeded in voicing their overlooked realities to policy makers in the public. Today, we will learn more about this transformative power in a project called COVID Realities.

‘Big Food’ at the UN table: A recipe for big waste?

waste nor hunger has been significantly decreased as a result of these efforts. Is the answer, then, just to urge companies to redistribute more surplus, and perhaps tweak their supply chain processes a little harder?

Food Banks and Charity as a False Response to Hunger in the Wealthy but Unequal Countries

Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2021 – The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the food injustices and inequalities felt by too many in the so-called ‚Global North‘, particularly those in marginalized communities – Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

Not Our Menu: False solutions to hunger and malnutrition

Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2021 – This year’s edition of the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch – Not Our Menu: False Solutions to Hunger and Malnutrition – attempts  to connect the dots surrounding the food that we eat.

UK’s This is Rubbish! and the Plenty to Share Campaign

This podcast focuses on food waste as part of our Corporatization of Hunger series. Guest is UK National Food Waste Expert and Campaigner, Martin Bowman, from the British food waste advocacy organization, This is Rubbish. This is Rubbish’s Plenty to Share Campaign has just released three short animated videos, focused on inequality and the causes of food waste, food poverty and inequality and solutions to them.

The Connection Between Hunger and Health

In this episode, we’ll explore the connection between hunger and health, poverty and obesity, and the impact of food worry. Welcome to Rights Not Charity. This podcast series is about a big idea, ensuring everyone has enough food, not as a charitable gift, but as a fundamental human right. My name is Christina Wong and I’m the director of Public Policy and Advocacy at Northwest Harvest, a food justice organization and statewide food bank based in Seattle, Washington. Our guest today is Dr. Ben Danielson, a pediatrician with the University of Washington.

Why This Pediatrician Wants U.S. to Re-Frame Poverty and Food

Lack of food or too much of the wrong kind of food can create a wealth of physical and mental health problems. Making matters even worse, society often blames individuals for making the wrong choices. But data shows us that diet related ill health goes hand in hand with inequality and poverty and occurs at disproportionately higher rates for communities of color. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Ben Danielson, a pediatrician with the University of Washington, about the parallels between food banking and healthcare. And, how both systems manage social problems and could benefit from addressing food insecurity systemically at the root causes level.

What Does Hunger Look Like in Canada?

Canada is among the world’s 10 wealthiest countries. Yet food insecurity has been rising. Around one in eight Canadian households experienced food insecurity in 2018. A figure that has likely grown, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the U.S. and U.K., Canada has seen significant growth in food banks over the past 40 years, and many Canadians see food charity as a key solution to hunger.

Food poverty at record levels – a children’s book on food banks shows how normal it has become

“Wake up, mum. I’m hungry!” This is the opening line to the recently published children’s book, It’s a No-Money Day, by Kate Milner, a powerful exploration of food banks and life below the poverty line.

Food Poverty Has No Place in Our Society

Dave Beck is a lecturer in social policy at the University of Salford and expert on food poverty. We chat to him about his work, the role of food banks in the UK and how he believes we could eliminate food poverty.