Food Banking in the Context of Food Security: Canada and the UK Country Cases

Food as a basic need can be evaluated on the ground of food security and the "right to food" approach. As institutions that collect, distribute, and provide complementary food and meals, food banks can be acted upon by the fact that access to food and food is a fundamental human right, as well as charity and philanthropy motivations, can be decisive. The point that makes food banks open to debate is the long-term sustainability and adequacy of food banks and the support they provide. Besides, the existence and the generality of food banks can be interpreted as the withdrawal of the state from its area of responsibility and its failure to fulfill its responsibility in this area. The structure of social support systems and state-individual relations through the existence of food banks in the UK and Canada, among the examples of the liberal welfare state, will be included in this study. The measures and policies taken within the scope of combating COVID-19 directly and indirectly affected food banks. Therefore, the impact of the recent global pandemic on the demand for food banks will also be included.