Digital Dignity Initiative

Voedselbanken Nederland, the association of Dutch foodbanks (DFB) provides food support to about 180.000 people in the Netherlands. As a result of the pandemic and, more recently, the rising energy costs and overall high inflation, this number is on the rise.
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Although the numbers show that some people in need can find their way to the food banks, DFB assesses that many more people in the Netherlands would qualify for their support. Based on their mission to reduce hunger in the Netherlands, DFB is actively trying to reach out to these people who experience impediments to benefit from food bank support. These impediments can be due to for example shame, unawareness, geographical distance, or social context. DFB is currently conducting a project called ‘Under the Radar’ (UtR) to actively approach these potential new food bank clients. The designing of digital nudges to overcome social hesitancy and social stigma while accessing foodbanks requires careful ethical consideration, which forms the subject matter of this project. Specifically, this project investigates issues relating to trust, privacy, and digital dignity in accessing foodbank.