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    Why are we waiting? The five-week wait for Universal Credit and food insecurity among food sector workers in the UK

    Richards-Gray, Laura (2024) Why are we waiting? The five-week wait for Universal Credit and food insecurity among food sector workers in the UK. Journal of Poverty , ISSN 1087-5549.

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    Abstract

    The UK’s new social security benefit, Universal Credit, is driving up food insecurity. Particularly problematic is the five-week wait for the first payment. Meanwhile, low wages and insecure contracts mean many food sector workers rely on Universal Credit. This qualitative study explores the effects of the five-week wait on food security among these workers. The findings show this is forcing them to depend on family, friends and foodbanks, inducing shame and isolation, and negatively impacting their physical and mental health. Meanwhile, working in the food sector offers little or no protection from these effects and, in some cases, exacerbates them.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
    Depositing User: Laura Richards-Gray
    Date Deposited: 06 Sep 2024 15:37
    Last Modified: 06 Sep 2024 21:14
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/54232

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