Report by Damian Dempsey and Hartwig Pautz. UWS-Oxfam Partnership: Collaborative Research Reports Series.
April 2021.
This report explores, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020/21, the escalating scale of food insecurity with a focus on Scotland and on four demographic groups – the homeless, young carers and young adult carers, (destitute) asylum seekers, and people with disabilities. These groups were chosen because they are at comparatively higher risk of food insecurity even in ‘normal times’. Importantly, the report makes a key distinction between ‘income problems’ and ‘access challenges’ when it comes to understanding the reasons for food insecurity and its increase.
The report is based on an overview of the existing literature on Covid-19 and how it has impacted on food insecurity across the United Kingdom (UK) and on insights gained through interviews with representatives of organisations providing support to the four groups in the focus. In doing so, it makes a contribution to a better understanding of food insecurity.
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