What is it about?
The article covers a ten year period and is based on participant observation by the author. It focuses on the implications for churches and faith based agencies, in particular, of growth in demand for food bank services. Issues of elective and representative governance are explored, with three critical periods of development for a city food bank based on exclusive Christian trusteeship, examined in detail
Featured Image
Why is it important?
The article is a significant contribution to the literature in relation to social enterprise models. Many of these now emanate from faith oriented communities, and are occupying an increasingly central place in social policy and practice. The article highlights the tension between democratic governance requirements and those of alternative values based organisations. Such tensions are likely to increase as austerity contexts require extended contributions from the independent sector to mainstream health and community development.
Perspectives
The perspective is a personal one in that the article is derived from a ten year period of the author's involvement with a local food bank. It is also, however, part of a programme of applied research undertaken with such agencies as the local Anglican Diocese to gain a better understanding of the implications of transfers of responsibility from the State to the church for social welfare provision.
Prof Geoffrey D Meads
University of Winchester
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: From Pastoral Care to Public Health: An Ethnographic Case Study of Collaborative Governance in a Local Food Bank, The Open Public Health Journal, July 2017, Bentham Science Publishers,
DOI: 10.2174/1874944501710010106.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
