Food welfare as a new paradigm to deal with food poverty. The case study of Turin

The present research aims to highlight the political systems’ inability to address emergency and incidental approaches behind food aid, on one side. On the other side, we mean to debate how local political systems may develop innovative transversal approaches to deal with food security. Much effort is put into the comprehension of the issue of “food welfare”, meant as a new conceptual term through which it may be possible to set up a series of structural measures regarding food accessibility. The research is carried out by addressing a theoretical level in which we analyse the literature advancements regarding the theme of “food welfare”; successively, we intend to carry out empirical research in the City of Turin to determine the number of food aid-related actors, their locations and their capacity of providing solutions for people’s needs. Hence, we intend to figure out how food aid is conceived and structured in Turin. The third and final part of the research consists in interviewing a series of policy-makers from the City of Turin meaning to comprehend their perceptions regarding the necessity of stronger and more effective food aid strategies, inserting them in a broader food welfare approach.