Project properties
Title The emergence of food banks: what role for government?
Group Public Administration and Policy
Project type thesis
Credits 33-39
Supervisor(s) Dr. Jeroen Candel
Examiner(s) Prof. Dr. Katrien Termeer (PAP)
Contact info jeroen.candel@wur.nl
Begin date 2017/02/01
End date
Description The previous decade has witnessed the rapid emergence of food banks in the Netherlands and elsewhere. In the Netherlands, food banks have been initiated and run entirely by volunteers. As such, food banks can be considered a good example of self-governance or ‘Big Society’. Whether the governance of societal problems, such as food insecurity, by societal actors is a desirable development remains open to debate.
Although initiated by societal actors, ‘traditional’ government is never far away. The national government as well as local governments have played an active role in enabling food banks’ development, but may at other times also put down constraints. The goal of this MSc research project is to obtain a better understanding of this relationship between food banks and governments. Students may approach this relationship from different directions, e.g., focusing on which constraining and enabling conditions food banks experience, how governmental actors perceive their roles vis-à-vis food banks, and/or exploring normative questions about the desirability of society-run food banks.

Region: Netherlands and/or other Western countries
Used skills Qualitative research methods
Requirements We look for one or more highly ambitious student(s), who is/are capable of working autonomously, has/have affinity with both social/anti-poverty policy and governance debates, and has/have experience with using qualitative research methods. Students are expected to further develop the above in a stand-alone research proposal.