Kayleigh Garthwaite

Associate Professor in the Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology at the University of Birmingham. She is also the Deputy Director of Research (Impact), School of Social Policy and Society. Kayleigh’s research interests focus on poverty and inequality, social security, and stigma, specifically investigating charitable food provision and food insecurity.

Her work is strongly interdisciplinary, working between social policy, sociology, and human geography, and employs a wide variety of mostly qualitative methodologies, including ethnography, participatory methods, research synthesis, and creative approaches such as zine making and walking interviews. Her books include “Hunger Inc. Building Solidarity Beyond the Food Bank” (2025).