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A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article on food banks and how food bank establishment and activities correlates with markers of economic hardship and government austerity policies, and the article "Austerity and the Rise of Food Banks," published in a 2015 issue.

The article discusses a study which examine the quality of evidence that supports proposed actions in the Great Britain's white paper "Healthy Lives, Healthy People." The study utilizes a systematic approach to seek for quality evidence in connection with the white paper. Results show that the equivocal evidence that fastening assessment led in an increased in labour market participation. Moreover, it notes that the evidence was lack of community interventions and has poor quality evidence which affirms the use of community agents.

Objectives To explore similarities and differences in policy content and the political context of the three main English government reports on health inequalities: the Black Report (1980), the Acheson Enquiry (1998), and the Marmot Review (2010). Methods Thematic policy and context analysis of the Black Report (1980), the Acheson Enquiry (1998), and the Marmot Review (2010) in terms of: (i) underpinningtheoretical principles; (ii) policy recommendations; (iii) the political contexts in which each was released; and (iv) their actual or potential influence on research and policy. Results There were great similarities and very few differences in terms of both the theoretical principles guiding the recommendations of these reports and the focus of the recommendations themselves. However, there were clear differences in terms of the political contexts of each report, as well as their subsequent impacts on research and policy. Conclusion The paper calls into question the progress of health inequalities research, the use of evidence and of the links between research, politics and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]