Charles Roding Pemberton
Publisher SCM £19.99 2020
Format pbk
ISBN 9780334058960
The Introduction informs us that ‘food banks sit at the crossroads of religious, political and economic forces’; from this the author proceeds to explore the implications of this uncomfortable position based on his own two-year experience as a volunteer in a Durham food bank where he conducted interviews with users and volunteers. This is set into the context of very wide-ranging academic research making some challenging observations about Christian and other responses to the food bank phenomenon. Church reports on their food banks invariably point out that ‘food banks will not solve poverty even if they do alleviate immediate distress’ but then find they are accused of ‘politicizing poverty’. Chapter 1, entitled ‘Food Bank Lives’ distils poignant interviews conducted while he was volunteering; Chapter 2 outlines the ‘International Growth of Food Banks’, referring to the issue of the physical and psychological impact of ‘austerity’ – for example the sense of shame many users experience, especially the 70% who are in employment. Chapter 3 is headed ‘Food, Faith, Food Banks’ and broadens from Christian based activity to other faiths: for example, an Islamic Centre urging ‘We can’t just leave our religion at home’. Chapters 4 & 5 expand on the ‘crossroads’ mentioned above and this draws on theological, philosophical and socioeconomic writings leading to challenges such as ‘to what extent do food banks exonerate employers who pay low wages which perpetuate poverty’; and the fact that in developed countries current levels of consumption clash with the sustainability issue; ; how can churches make it clear that it is the love of God and his Creation and love of neighbour which motivates them, without alienating potential users. The author wonders if our recent Governments have gone so far away from operating in a Christ-like manner that there is a case for disestablishment – the pros and cons of which occupy pp 119-126. Food banks are still necessary and there is no donor fatigue yet, but certainly no room for complacency. There is mention of the possible impact of Brexit on the economy and employment, but the book was written before the coronavirus crisis. The extensive bibliography, together with an excellent ‘names and subjects’ index, completes an important book for our troubled age.
DAVID SELLICK
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