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Soup runs in Central London: the right help in the right place at the right time?
- Authors:
- LANE Laura, POWER Anne
- Publisher:
- Crisis
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 43p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report aims to provide an independent and objective perspective on soup runs in the London Borough of Westminster. A soup run is broadly defined as any mobile food distribution service operating to serve the homeless. It appears that the issue of soup runs in Westminster has become contentious and controversial. Are they a valuable life-saving resource supporting the vulnerable or an outdated, poorly targeted and uncoordinated service that sustains damaging life styles? This study asked: Who uses the service? Why do people use the service? How important are they and where do they fit in with other homeless services in the borough? Ending rough sleeping has been a clear objective for the government and homeless agencies for more than decade. However current policies have some major gaps particularly for those without recourse to public funds and entrenched rough sleepers. The report suggests that, with their tolerant open-access ethos, soup runs can access many vulnerable people not reached through existing mainstream services. The authors set out proposals for ways forward in dealing with soup runs in Westminster. The most important of which, they suggest, is the need for closer partnership working and communication between the various organisations involved.
Serving the community: the sustainability of lunch clubs in North East Wales and West Cheshire
- Authors:
- SPENCER Eileen, HANSON Margaret, COLLIS Bryan
- Journal article citation:
- Voluntary Sector Review, 5(3), 2014, pp.381-389.
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Support for community-dwelling older people is frequently provided by the voluntary sector through small community groups, but little is known about their sustainability. This paper, based on research in North East Wales and West Cheshire, focuses on lunch clubs and explores the factors that affect their sustainability, from the perspective of the coordinators. The paper aims to share these experiences with voluntary organisations, commissioners, planners and policy makers who support small community groups within their provider network. (Publisher abstract)
The shifting pattern of food security support: food stamp and food bank usage in North Carolina
- Authors:
- BERNER Maureen, O'BRIEN Kelley
- Journal article citation:
- Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 33(4), December 2004, pp.655-672.
- Publisher:
- Sage
From the mid-1990s to 2000, there was a decline in the number of food stamp recipients in the US. That trend has recently reversed itself. Over the same time, food bank output has consistently increased. Research has not shown whether hunger is decreasing or whether there is a change in how food security is provided. To address this question, this study examined the combined monthly food outflow patterns of 193 emergency food providers (EFPs) in central North Carolina from 1995 to 2000. Through surveys and regression analysis, the authors find that although administrators felt that increased EFP usage was due to economic stress and population growth, the data instead show an inverse relationship with the number of public assistance recipients and a positive relationship with food stamp recipients. Although these results cannot explain individual behavior, they raise continued concerns over the growing role of nonprofits in providing food security.
Assessing effects of food stamp program participation on child food security in vulnerable households: do informal supports matter?
- Authors:
- LOMBE Margaret, YU Mansoo, NEBBITT Von E.
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 90(4), October 2009, pp.353-358.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
The Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program) is one of the largest federal welfare initiatives undertaken to address the problem of hunger and nutrient intake among households in poverty. Using data from the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement for 2003, this study examines the effects of participating in the program on food security among children in vulnerable households, as well as moderating effects of informal food assistance. The authors suggest that the food stamp take-up and informal food assistance are important in understanding child food security in vulnerable households, and that informal or community food assistance programs such as food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens are an additional component to household food security. For children in African American households, households in which the family head works fewer hours than average, and households whose heads report low education, there may be a gap between the supports provided by the safety net and their consumption needs. The authors conclude that consideration could be devoted to understanding correlates of food insecurity in these households, the magnitude of food deficits after food stamp take-up, and specific times of the month when such households experience shortages in food supplies.