The ‘undeserving poor’: How food system transformation is middle class and why this needs to change
This briefing is based on a webinar given by Dominic Watters on 13 December 2023, for the AFN Network+. It is written by Knowledge Exchange Fellow, Jez Fredenburgh. You can watch the full webinar here.
Dominic Watters, also known as Single Dad SW, is a single dad living in poverty and food and fuel insecurity in London. He and his daughter live in the most deprived block of their council estate and survive off free school meals, Universal Credit and pay-as-you-go gas and electricity meters. Dominic’s ability to tell it like it is and connect the dots on poverty, has made him a sought after voice on these issues. He is a campaigner, speaker, and author of Social Distance in Social Work: COVID Capsule One. He is a Food Foundation Ambassador and has appeared on BBC Newsnight, Sky News, and the New Statesman to name a few, and uses every platform he can access to speak up for the marginalised. He sits on the editorial board of the British Journal of Social Work (Oxford University Press), and has designed a ground-breaking training that promotes a Food and Fuel Insecurity Best Practice model for those supporting the most disadvantaged in our society.