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      Disenfranchised: How Lower Income Mothers Navigated the Social Safety Net during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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          Abstract

          Government programs and other forms of assistance act as critical safety nets in times of crisis. The federal government’s initial response to coronavirus disease 2019 represented a significant increase in the welfare state, but the provisions enacted were not permanent and did not reach all families. Drawing on interviews with 54 lower-income mothers and grandmothers, we analyze how families navigated the safety net to access food during the pandemic. Pandemic aid served as a critical support for many families, but participants also described gaps and barriers. Following the argument that food is a basic human right, we identify how mothers encountered three forms of disenfranchisement: being denied or experiencing delayed public benefits, being afraid to access assistance, and receiving paltry or inedible emergency food. We conclude by arguing for an expanded social safety net that broadens access to necessary food resources before, during, and after crises such as the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

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          Most cited references80

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          Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color

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            Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure

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              Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Second Edition

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                (View ORCID Profile)
                Journal
                Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World
                Socius
                SAGE Publications
                2378-0231
                2378-0231
                January 2021
                September 30 2021
                January 2021
                : 7
                : 237802312110316
                Affiliations
                [1 ]University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
                [2 ]North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
                Article
                10.1177/23780231211031690
                a1735f35-49b2-4ebe-a757-ed91a328d653
                © 2021

                https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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