Emergency Food Aid in Britain: The Creep of Marketization and Professionalization

The recently emerged emergency food aid sector in Britain represents an evolving area of academic inquiry. Existing scholarship has primarily focused on aspects of this sector including its political implications, the right to food, and associated stigma. However, an in-depth sector-wide analysis reveals complex tensions and power dynamics, particularly in the competitive struggle for philanthropic resources.

This sector of civil society began to take shape fifteen years ago, catalyzed by shifts in neoliberal ideology and policy frameworks. In this context, resource constraints and institutional pressures are exerting significant influence on the sector. In combination, resource dependence theory and institutional theory offer an understanding of why emergency food aid organizations in Britain are undergoing the identified shifts toward professionalization and marketization.

Based on qualitative interviews, participant observation, participation in organizational processes, and desk-based research, this research primarily focuses on developments in Britain, mirroring broader trends across the Global North, which it compares and contrasts with non-market-based approaches to food aid found in the Global South emphasizing community solidarity and mutual aid over institutionalized philanthropy. By examining these alternative models, commons theory highlights how communities in the Global South manage shared resources outside market logics, offering insights into potential pathways for rethinking food aid in the Global North.