TY - JOUR

T1 - The moral maze of foodbank use

AU - Beck, David

AU - Gwilym, Hefin

PY - 2020/10

Y1 - 2020/10

N2 - The foodbank symbolises a changing landscape of social insecurity and welfare conditionality. Attending to decision making within the foodbank system, this article argues that foodbanks, and their referral-system creates a bureaucratic ‘moral maze’ identifying people as ‘deserving’ or ‘undeserving’ of help. Maintaining a moral distance, organised religious foodbanks are reliant upon a complex outsourcing of moral decisions and walk a fine balance between supply (donations) and demand (use). Within this article, we argue that the foodbank landscape is akin to navigating a moral maze, and that this creates, and justifies decisions of deservingness.

AB - The foodbank symbolises a changing landscape of social insecurity and welfare conditionality. Attending to decision making within the foodbank system, this article argues that foodbanks, and their referral-system creates a bureaucratic ‘moral maze’ identifying people as ‘deserving’ or ‘undeserving’ of help. Maintaining a moral distance, organised religious foodbanks are reliant upon a complex outsourcing of moral decisions and walk a fine balance between supply (donations) and demand (use). Within this article, we argue that the foodbank landscape is akin to navigating a moral maze, and that this creates, and justifies decisions of deservingness.

KW - bureaucracy

KW - decision making

KW - foodbank

KW - neoliberalism

KW - welfare reform

U2 - 10.1332/175982720X15905998909942

DO - 10.1332/175982720X15905998909942

M3 - Article

VL - 28

SP - 383

EP - 399

JO - Journal of Poverty and Social Justice

JF - Journal of Poverty and Social Justice

SN - 1759-8273

IS - 3

ER -