Szulecka, J., Strøm-Andersen, N., Capodistrias, P. 2022. “Food (in)security in a Nordic Welfare State: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Activities of Oslo’s Food Bank”. In: Calabrò, F., Della Spina, L., Piñeira Mantiñán, M.J. (eds) New Metropolitan Perspectives. NMP 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 482. Springer, Cham.
This chapter explores the impact of COVID-19 on metropolitan food redistribution chains in a Nordic welfare state by analyzing the case of Oslo’s Food Bank. It assesses how alternative redistribution schemes can support the welfare state or reach out to vulnerable groups without sufficient assistance. The study finds that Oslo’s Food Bank - Matsentralen Oslo - experienced an increase in food demand and new types of recipients. However, despite the COVID-related social challenges, it was able to redistribute more food in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019 thanks to the combination of new strategies, new administrative and control systems, new internal structures, as well as the establishment of new partnerships. The increased food demand and the availability of surplus food combined with the food bank's capacity to adapt to sudden changes suggest that the provision of food security requires the presence of dedicated institutions with the flexibility to make quick adjustments and connect supply and demand. The study shows that food banks complement the welfare state in bringing social services and additionally reduce food waste. They thus combine socio-economic and environmental services, which are beyond the scope of public financial transfers.
Capodistrias, P., Szulecka, J., Corciolani, M., & Strøm-Andersen, N. 2021. "European food banks and COVID-19: Resilience and innovation in times of crisis." Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. doi: 10.1016/j.seps.2021.101187
This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the functioning of European food banks and how resilient European food banks were in coping with the pandemic in 2020. We apply a multiple case study design to assess how the first year of the pandemic affected European food banks’ operations and the amount of redistributed food. We further investigate innovation practices that have been developed to cope with the new situation, hoping to draw lessons for imminent future waves of the pandemic and other social crises. Our study finds that, compared to 2019, in 2020 food banks were able to redistribute a significantly higher amount of food despite numerous social restrictions and other challenges associated with the pandemic. To explain this, we delve into the organizational innovations implemented by the studied food banks and find that the introduction of new strategies and new internal structures, as well as the establishment of new types of external network relations with other firms and/or public organizations, proved to be particularly important, enabling food banks to respond quickly and effectively to the new emergency. The study thus highlights the role of food banks in food redistribution and food waste reduction in times of crisis.