Feeding Britain, the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN), and the University of York host a webinar discussion on structural inequalities and food insecurity and their disproportionate impact on disabled people.

COVID-19 has exposed the depth of inequality built into the UK’s social structures and institutions. Now, more than ever, it is important to consider how inequalities shape access to food and food aid in the UK. Food bank use, which had already been on the rise, has soared to new levels in the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects of COVID-19 and numerous national lockdowns have not been experienced evenly by all members of society. This panel discussion will focus on the food insecurity experiences of disabled people. We will ask how experiences have been shaped by existing structural inequalities in our society.

The session, chaired by Chris Stephens MP and Deirdre Woods, Co-Chair of IFAN’s Board of Trustees will consider three board questions:

1. How does disability shape experiences of being able to afford and access food?

2. How do Government policies create and exacerbate disability inequality in terms of being able to afford or access food?

3. What can be done to confront structural inequality in the face of an increasing need for emergency food aid disproportionately impacting disabled people?

We will discuss these questions and others alongside our panellists including Mary Collier (Reaching People), Dr Steffan Evans (The Bevan Foundation), Anela Anwar (Z2K) and Shirley Widdop (Disabled lone parent, Activist & Covid Realities Participant).

If you would like to submit a question for our panel in advance please do so via this Eventbrite page.

Please register to attend by 12 midday on Monday February 22nd and we will send the Zoom joining link and instructions before the event.

Accessibility

This session will be live-captioned and there will be a BSL interpreter present. Questions for the Q&A are to be submitted via chat box but should you prefer to ask a question in BSL please indicate this in the chat and this can be accommodated. Please get in touch with Maria at maria@foodaidnetwork.org.uk if you have any other support needs.

Call for evidence

If you would like to share your thoughts and experience of poverty and food insecurity in confidence, you can do so via email to Maria at maria@foodaidnetwork.org.uk or via this online form. This evidence will inform discussion at the webinar session on the 22nd of February and will help form the basis of a report to be published in March 2021.

If you would prefer to share your reflections on the phone or via a WhatsApp voice note please contact Maria at maria@foodaidnetwork.org.uk.

All submissions will remain anonymous unless you indicate otherwise. The deadline for evidence submissions is Tuesday the 2nd March at 6pm.