Balancing the line — the relation between waiting and activity among people in need of food in Sweden

Abstract

At a food bank in Sweden, people stand in line, waiting to receive donated food, which can easily be interpreted as passively receiving hand-outs. But this line is full of activity, and it is very demanding to keep holding the line. However, a common perception of people in need of help from the social services and other authorities is that they need activation. This article aims to explore the relation between waiting and activity among the people visiting a food bank in Sweden. The line is used as an analytical tool to explore how people are balancing on a line between food insecurity and having food for the day, but also standing in a very concrete line, waiting for donations. The empirical material is based on a one-year ethnographic study of a food bank. It is argued that the people waiting are aligned to reach, in this case, the donated food, but consequently also aligned away from other possible solutions. This can be interpreted as a way of keeping people in line. Herein lies a challenge for social work: it risks reproducing social inequalities rather than working towards social justice and social change.