The invisible backpack: a techno-ethical analysis of the stigma and shame associated with accessing food banks in the Netherlands

To better understand the reasons behind why people who need food bank assistance arereluctant to approach them, we critically analysed the challenges in accessing food banksthrough quantitative analysis and qualitative interviews. Our study reveals a wide-ranginggap across food banks in terms of the number of people who might need food bank as-sistance and the people who currently approach them, and also confirms stigma and shameas the primary factors that are currently keeping people under the radar. After analysingthe challenges associated with accessing food banks, we propose technological and ethicalmeasures steeped in trust, privacy, and dignity for addressing these challenges.