Hunger, whiteness and religion in neoliberal Britain : an inequality of power

The traditional food aid/food poverty narrative in the United Kingdom tells us that food banks are compassionate spaces, responding to growing need. Missing is a more nuanced consideration of why food aid might exist and acknowledgment of the deeper, entrenched causes of food poverty. This book shines a light on these neglected dimensions of the debate. It argues that food aid is not only a consequence of neoliberal policies but an industry riddled with neoliberal governmentality, surveilling and governing people. It shows how food aid upholds Christian ideals, white privilege, and maintains inequalities of class, race, religion and gender. But it also reveals a sector that is immensely varied, embodying individualism and mutual aid. Drawing upon lived experiences, it documents how people in poverty stigmatise female and racialised Others for their poverty, while struggling themselves to maintain economic success amid insecure employment and punitive social security. And yet, the experience of food insecurity, like that of food aid, is shaped not only by neoliberal norms but by gendered, racial and religious identities, which foster shared experiences and solidarities, giving rise to alternative modes of food redistribution outside of formal food aid. The book argues that it is only by harnessing these alternative, progressive ways of being that food aid and the communities in which they are situated can become part of a movement for economic and racial justice. Front Cover 1 Hunger, Whiteness and Religion in Neoliberal Britain: An Inequality of Power 2 Copyright information 3 Dedication 4 Table of contents 6 Acknowledgments 7 Foreword 8 1 Introduction 10 Some essential terminology 12 Food insecurity 12 Food aid 13 What is hunger? Food insecurity, food poverty and how we got here 15 The setting 16 A brief history of Bradford: 1850 to the present day 16 A brief history of York: AD 71 to the present day 19 The study 20 Positionality in the research process 22 Chapter summary 24 Notes 25 2 Revising perspectives on neoliberalism, hunger and food insecurity 27 Introduction: what is the need for theory? 27 Political economy of food charity 27 Liberalism and neoliberalism 28 Political economic doctrine 28 Governmentality 29 Subjectivities 30 Neoliberalism and critical approaches to food charity 31 Religious neoliberalism 32 Racial neoliberalism 35 The post-racial state 36 Whiteness 37 Rights-based approaches to food insecurity 38 Food aid and mutual aid 40 Conclusion 42 Notes 44 3 Food aid and neoliberalism: an alliance built on shared interests? 46 Introduction: the rise of food charity? 46 “Whose responsibility is it to feed the poor?” 47 “Universal Credit has wrecked us” 51 COVID-19 and the institutionalisation of food charity in the UK 54 The manifestation of neoliberal ethics in food charity 56 Food charity, neoliberalism and exclusion 56 ‘There are certain people who, kind of by default, are choosing their situation’: neoliberal narratives in food aid 58 Neoliberal definitions of need 58 Approved food choices 59 Virtue and ambivalence 60 Diversity and complexity in contemporary food charity 62 Historical precedents and parallels 63 Conclusion 65 Notes 67 4 Soup and salvation: realising religion through contemporary food charity 69 Introduction: faith and food charity in the 21st century 69 Theological perspectives on food and charity 71 Food and charity in Sikhism 71 Charity and food in Islam 71 Justice and charity in Judaism 72 Food and charity in the Judeo-Christian tradition 72 Faith and food charity in Bradford and York 74 “Bringing heaven down to earth”: motivations for faith-based food charity 76 “They have tried sex, drugs and alcohol, but they haven’t tried God”: saving the hungry through food charity 81 “Before the meal, we say a word from the Bible”: manifestations of faith in food aid 82 Conclusion 86 Notes 87 5 Whiteness, racism and colourblindness in UK food aid 89 Introduction: from religious to racial exclusion 89 Racism and Whiteness in US food aid: colourblindness and universalism 90 Racism and Whiteness in US emergency food provision 91 Racial inequality in UK poverty and food insecurity 91 Exploring the under-representation of minority ethnic households in emergency food aid 93 Manifestations of Whiteness in the emergency food system 94 Colourblindness 94 Universalism 95 Duality of Whiteness in emergency food aid 97 Conclusion 98 Notes 100 6 Lived neoliberalism: food, poverty and power 101 Introduction: individualising and responsibilising food insecurity 101 Low income, social security and food insecurity in Bradford and York 104 Lived experiences of low income, social security and food 105 ‘Making do’ on a low income 105 Social security and (in)adequate nutrition 106 Language on food and poverty 107 What can Foucault tell us about food, poverty and power? 109 Disciplinary state 109 Chronicity of state surveillance 110 The all-pervasive dynamics of capitalism 111 Pastoral power in food banks 112 Sousveillance, self-regulation and the Other 113 A racialised Other? 115 Conclusion 117 Notes 119 7 Racial inequality or mutual aid? Food and poverty among Pakistani British and White British women 121 Introduction: Sabira’s story 121 Exploring ethnic differences in food insecurity 122 What is ‘race’? Social and historical constructs of race and ethnicity 124 Lived experiences of food, poverty and food aid 127 Apparent variations among Pakistani British and White British women 127 Why does there appear to be lower food insecurity among Pakistani British than among White British women? 128 Lower poverty 129 Strategies employed to ‘make ends meet’ within the household 129 Familial and social support 130 Religious frameworks 133 Racial or gendered stigma? 134 Divergent ethical frameworks? An ethic of independence, Islamic hospitality, or mutual aid 137 Alternative ethics of food charity: social solidarity and mutual aid 138 Conclusion 143 Notes 144 8 Seeds beneath the snow 146 The murky alliance between neoliberalism and food charity 149 Food aid can be racist 152 The lived experience of food is shaped by class, gendered and racial stigma 153 Food distribution can be a mode of resistance 155 Another way is possible 156 Neighbors Together: addressing hunger through housing reform 157 WhyHunger: “This is about root causes and systemic change, not changing behaviour” 159 Diggers’ Mirth Collective: anarchist farming and food markets in Vermont 161 Seizing uncertainty 164 Notes 164 Appendix: methodology 165 Bradford 165 Survey 165 Sample 165 Born in Bradford study 165 The BiB1000 study 165 Creating a food insecurity dataset 167 Variables used in the analysis 169 Statistical analysis 170 Interviews and focus groups 170 Food aid providers: 2014–15 170 Data analysis 171 Sample 172 Focus groups with low-income families 2016–17 172 Setting: Little Horton, Bowling and Barkerend, and Bradford Moor 172 Study design 173 Sample and ethical considerations 174 Data analysis 175 York 175 Research approach and aims 175 Study design and setting 176 Survey 176 Sample 176 Data collection 177 Focus groups 178 Focus group sample and ethical considerations 179 Data analysis 179 Reflections on the methodological approach 180 References 1 Index 207 Back Cover 216

Exploring why food aid exists and the deeper causes of food poverty, this book addresses neglected dimensions of traditional food aid and food poverty debates. It argues that the food aid industry is infused with neoliberal governmentality and shows how food charity upholds Christian ideals and white privilege, maintaining inequalities of class, race, religion and gender. However, it also reveals a sector that is immensely varied, embodying both individualism and mutual aid. Drawing upon lived experiences, it documents how food sharing amid poverty fosters solidarity and gives rise to alternative modes of food redistribution among communities. By harnessing these alternative ways of being, food aid and communities can be part of movements for economic and racial justice.

Exploring why food aid exists and the deeper causes of food poverty, this book addresses neglected dimensions of traditional debates. It challenges neoliberal governmentality and shows how food charity maintains inequalities of class, race, religion and gender.