Exploring the potential for (critical) Global Citizenship Education in the local community foodbank

This project aims to identify opportunities for intercultural and intergenerational learning in a local foodbank in an ethnically diverse community in NW England. The study will contribute to the Education, Childhood and Youth pathway by investigating the nonformal educational potential of a community hub that serves the most disadvantaged members of society.
Rationale: Austerity has led to a steep rise in food poverty across Europe, with the UK "responsible for one in five of all severely food insecure people in Europe" (House of Commons 2019:3), equating to 8.4 million people living in households with food insecurity. Charitable foodbank use has consequently risen by 73% over the past 5 years, with 1200 Trussell Trust charity foodbanks distributing over 1.6 million food parcels in 2018-2019, and 800 other charitable foodbanks reaching further populations living in poverty (Trussell Trust 2019). Foodbanks cater for people of diverse ages and ethnicities, and aim to offer a welcoming space, nutritionally balanced food, and guidance on further support. However, whilst foodbanks do provide food, they often lack the resources to realise their broader social and education goals. Furthermore, in an era of increased populism, nationalism and Brexit transition, media discourses reflect neoliberal cultures of blame rather than inequality and injustice, and policy discourses focus on hardship (Tarasuk & Eakin 2003) and lifestyle choices, reflecting ideological myths of 'shirkers and scroungers' (Garthwaite 2011:277).
Having worked in foodbanks for a year, I have observed many ways in which they can act as informal, intercultural and intergenerational community learning hubs, where customers of all ages can exchange their stories, cultural practices and languages with volunteers and visitors, including local school children and higher education students, yet this potential is not presently met, and nor has it been researched. I have also witnessed stigmatised and xenophobic views amongst some volunteers and in the wider community towards foodbank users. Other foodbank staff have identified a culture of shame and dependency amongst clients, and an as-yet-unmet need for mutual understanding, and education in life skills education.
Research Questions:
1. What opportunities for intercultural and intergenerational nonformal learning does the foodbank offer?
2. How does the foodbank reinforce or challenge colonial values of monoculturalism and monolingualism?
3. In what ways is language used to build and break down barriers amongst and across generations and ethnic groups at the local foodbank?
This framing directly informs the UK's commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, Target 7 ensuring access to quality education for all learners to engage in GCE, sustainable lifestyles and intercultural understanding (United Nations, 2015). The critical (as opposed to 'soft') concept of GCE (Andreotti, 2006) guides learners to question and reflect on their own epistemologies and ontologies of the world, and critically evaluate power dynamics at a local and global level. There is at present a lack of research to inform policy and practice in intergenerational and informal learning in the field of critical GCE. A foodbank - as a place of diversity and a community hub - offers the potential for GCE at local level and SDG4 lifelong learning, further expanding the dynamic learning potential of these spaces.