Paper details
| Paper authors | Iris Lim, Yasmin Houamed, Susanne Jaspars |
| In panel on | The politics of food and technology in changing global and local crises |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting |
In-Person / |
Abstract
The UK faces a deepening food crisis, with 7.2 million adults experiencing food insecurity in June 2024 (Food Foundation, 2024) and a 94% increase in Trussell-affiliated food banks between 2019-2024 (Trussell Trust, 2024). This coincides with austerity measures and welfare digitalisation, particularly through Universal Credit's digital-by-default approach since 2013. Declining benefits have expanded food assistance initiatives including digital payments and various in-kind food programmes.
While digital technologies aim to improve efficiency, they often exacerbate inequalities by excluding individuals with limited digital literacy, inadequate technology access, or difficulties navigating bureaucratic processes (Lim, 2025). Digitalisation also raises concerns about private sector involvement, accountability, and profit motives in food assistance and welfare delivery.
Drawing on fieldwork in different food insecure communities in England for our ESRC-funded project, this paper explores experiences of digital food assistance recipients and providers. It analyses the digital and food access issues faced by different geographical, ethnic, migrant, and socio-economic groups. The paper examines efficiency alongside challenges of transparency, the scope for surveillance and for digital agency, equity, as well as how digitalisation potentially reinforces entrenched power structures.
