Food Banking in Turkey: Conservative Politics in a Neo-Liberal State

Abstract

Food Banking is a relatively new form of charitable access to food in Turkey. Introduced in 2004 by the government in an omnibus bill, food banks spread rapidly in the following decade, claiming to provide food for thousands of food insecure families. The Turkish law provides 100 per cent tax exemptions to those who make donations to food banks, yet there is no publicly available data on the numbers of people receiving food assistance, nor the amount of donations and income tax benefits received by the donors. This chapter examines the socio-economic and political context in the early 2000s in Turkey that has led to the formation of food banks. It reviews the conditions of food insecurity, and the role of food banks as charitable organizations in food provisioning and electoral politics across the country. The chapter claims that the introduction of food banks during this period reflects the politics of religious conservatism and neo-liberal economic strategies adopted by the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) during this decade.