Skip to main content

Distributed for UCL Press

Families and Food in Hard Times

European Comparative Research

An examination of food poverty in austerity-era Europe.

Food is fundamental, yet food poverty has increased in the Global North. Adopting a comparative case approach, Food and Families in Hard Times addresses the global problem of economic retrenchment and the burden it places on the most vulnerable. This timely book examines food poverty in the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Norway following the 2008 financial crisis, examining the resources available to families in relation to the intersection of public policies, local institutions, and kinship networks. The book explores the ways that low income impacts household food provisioning, formal and informal support for struggling families, the provision and role of school meals, and constraints upon families’ social participation. Drawing upon extensive and intensive knowledge on the conditions and experiences of low-income families, the book also draws upon current research in European social science literature to shed light on the causes and consequences of food poverty in austerity-era Europe.
 

320 pages | 32 color plates | 6.14 x 9.21 | © 2021

Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology

Culture Studies

Economics and Business: Health Economics

Sociology:


UCL Press image

View all books from UCL Press

Table of Contents

List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part 1: Setting the scene 1.The national contexts: the UK, Portugal and Norway 2.Research questions and concepts 3.The study 4.Which types of households are at risk of food poverty?
Part 2: Households as resource units 5.Three unemployed lone mother families 6.Three dual earner families 7.Three undocumented migrant families
Part 3: The social dimensions of food poverty 8. Exclusion from sociability and social relationships
Part 4: Formal and informal support 9.Charity, family and friends 10. Children’s experiences of school meals 11. Conclusions and reflections
References Index

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press