Introduction

The international literature on poverty is extensive and this chapter seeks to focus on the importance of food in this discourse. It reviews the literature relating to both food poverty and food insecurity, which examines definitions, measurement and the results of recent empirical research. An overview of food bank research and the growth of charitable responses leads to consideration of the explanations for food poverty.

Poverty is a contested concept, characterised by continuous change (Coakley, 2004: 112). Understandings of poverty and how to deal with the problem tend to vary across countries, as well as over time, and there is no politically neutral perspective (Menton, 2007: 149). Perspectives have shifted from absolute to relative, while Sen (1984) offers an alternative capabilities approach. As pointed out by Ravaillon (1992: v), the measurement of poverty is often ‘clouded in conceptual and methodological uncertainties’, with approaches ranging from unidimensional to multidimensional (Walker, 2014: 15). In developed countries, absolute measures of poverty were used until the second half of the last century, normally based on physical subsistence needs, such as food (Spicker et al, 2007: 7). Reflecting economic progress and the emergence of welfare states, these measures suggested that poverty was no longer a serious problem (Walker, 2014: 17). In the second half of the 20th century, the measurement of poverty shifted to a relative approach in many countries, with measures set in comparison to income or consumption levels across society (Smeeding, 2016). Since the 1970s, approaches to poverty measurement have also been framed in terms of non- monetary deprivation measures, often combined with income (Menton, 2007: 7). No one method or set of measures is commonly agreed, as ‘in attempting to understand the changing nature of poverty, it is unwise to rely on any single measure’ (Layte et al, 2000: 571).

As is the case for poverty in general, the specific concept of food poverty is contested and the theoretical debate conveys complex and multi-faceted conceptualisations. In Europe, the terms food poverty and food insecurity are sometimes used interchangeably, although the latter term predominates in the US. As researchers have adopted different approaches to both defining and measuring these concepts, their findings tend to vary. The main approaches have been surveys of individuals/households asking about the topic or investigations of the use of food banks/food aid.