Food Bank Use Research Articles

Conceptualising food banking in the UK from drivers of use to impacts on health and wellbeing: A systematic review and directed content analysis

Food banks have become commonplace in the UK as an emergency response to food insecurity. However, food banks are not a long-term solution to food insecurity and are often not accessed by those in need. In the context of the cost-of-living crisis, and increased food insecurity, this systematic review applied market/government failure theory, voluntary failure theory, and Radimer et al.’s (1990) domains of food insecurity to explore three important aspects relevant to the food banking experience: the drivers of food bank use; the limitations of the current food bank model; and the impacts of the food banking model for food bank clients. Empirical, peer-reviewed articles written in English with a UK food bank context and reporting relevant data to these aspects were eligible for inclusion. In total, 221 titles were identified using four databases (Web of Science, SCOPUS, PubMed, CINHAL Plus) in July 2022. The final sample of 41 articles (comprising qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies), were quality assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data were extracted and analysed through directed content analysis. Market and government failures were widely reported to drive food bank use. Insufficiency, paternalism and particularism represented key limitations of the food bank model. Negative health and psychological impacts of food bank use were prominent, yet social impacts were largely positive. Consequently, new solutions are needed to promote positive health and psychological impacts for food bank clients in the UK. The application of these findings to other high-income countries experiencing food insecurity should be determined.

Food insecurity and food bank use: who is most at risk of severe food insecurity and who uses food banks?

To identify (1) who experiences food insecurity of differing severity and (2) who uses food banks in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; (3) whether the same groups experience food insecurity and use food banks; and (4) to explore country- and region-level differences in food insecurity and food bank use. This pooled cross-sectional study analysed the characteristics of adults experiencing food insecurity of differing severity using generalised ordinal logistic regression models and the characteristics of adults using food banks using logistic regression models, using data from three waves of the Food and You 2 surveys, 2021-2023. England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 18 557 adults. 20·8 % of respondents experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months, and 3·6 % had used a food bank. Food insecurity was associated with income, working status, respondent age, family type, ethnicity, country, long-term health conditions, food hypersensitivity, urban-rural status and area-level deprivation. Severe food insecurity was concentrated among respondents with long-term health conditions and food hypersensitivities. Food bank use was more prevalent among food insecure respondents and unemployed and low-income respondents. Neither outcome showed clear geographical variation. Certain groups experienced an elevated likelihood of food insecurity but did not report correspondingly greater food bank use. Food insecurity is unevenly distributed, and its nutrition and health-related consequences demonstrate that food insecurity will intensify health inequalities. The divergence between the scale of food insecurity and food bank use strengthens calls for adequate policy responses.

Using Natural Language Processing to Explore Social Media Opinions on Food Security: Sentiment Analysis and Topic Modeling Study.

Social media has the potential to be of great value in understanding patterns in public health using large-scale analysis approaches (eg, data science and natural language processing [NLP]), 2 of which have been used in public health: sentiment analysis and topic modeling; however, their use in the area of food security and public health nutrition is limited. This study aims to explore the potential use of NLP tools to gather insights from real-world social media data on the public health issue of food security. A search strategy for obtaining tweets was developed using food security terms. Tweets were collected using the Twitter application programming interface from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021, filtered for Australia-based users only. Sentiment analysis of the tweets was performed using the Valence Aware Dictionary and Sentiment Reasoner. Topic modeling exploring the content of tweets was conducted using latent Dirichlet allocation with BigML (BigML, Inc). Sentiment, topic, and engagement (the sum of likes, retweets, quotations, and replies) were compared across years. In total, 38,070 tweets were collected from 14,880 Twitter users. Overall, the sentiment when discussing food security was positive, although this varied across the 3 years. Positive sentiment remained higher during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in Australia. The topic model contained 10 topics (in order from highest to lowest probability in the data set): "Global production," "Food insecurity and health," "Use of food banks," "Giving to food banks," "Family poverty," "Food relief provision," "Global food insecurity," "Climate change," "Australian food insecurity," and "Human rights." The topic "Giving to food banks," which focused on support and donation, had the highest proportion of positive sentiment, and "Global food insecurity," which covered food insecurity prevalence worldwide, had the highest proportion of negative sentiment. When compared with news, there were some events, such as COVID-19 support payment introduction and bushfires across Australia, that were associated with high periods of positive or negative sentiment. Topics related to food insecurity prevalence, poverty, and food relief in Australia were not consistently more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic. Negative tweets received substantially higher engagement across 2019 and 2020. There was no clear relationship between topics that were more likely to be positive or negative and have higher or lower engagement, indicating that the identified topics are discrete issues. In this study, we demonstrated the potential use of sentiment analysis and topic modeling to explore evolution in conversations on food security using social media data. Future use of NLP in food security requires the context of and interpretation by public health experts and the use of broader data sets, with the potential to track dimensions or events related to food security to inform evidence-based decision-making in this area.

Food Insecurity Among Aging SNAP Participants and Eligible Nonparticipants in Two Predominantly Low-Income Black Neighborhoods: Implications for SNAP Enrollment and Outreach for Older Adults

BackgroundThe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) plays a critical role in alleviating poverty and food insecurity. Despite these benefits, many older Americans who are eligible for SNAP do not participate in the program. Few studies have explored household factors and food insecurity outcomes associated with nonparticipation among older Black Americans. ObjectivesThe study aim was to explore changes in food insecurity and related financial hardship outcomes between 2020 and 2021 among SNAP participants, eligible nonparticipants, and ineligible nonparticipants; compare reasons for not participating in SNAP; and to compare household factors associated with SNAP nonparticipation. MethodsLongitudinal design examining data from 2020 and 2021 to assess changes in food insecurity over the course of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Participants/settingParticipants were 528 adults (aged 30 to 97 years) in households randomly selected from a listing of all residential addresses in two predominantly Black neighborhoods with lower incomes in Pittsburgh, PA, and surveyed between March to May 2020 and May to December 2021. Main outcome measuresFood security was measured using the validated 6-item US Department of Agriculture Adult Food Security Survey Module. Statistical analyses performedFindings are based on a descriptive analysis of food security and related indicators. Statistical testing was performed to assess differences between SNAP participation status and individual characteristics, food security, and financial hardship using Wald F test for continuous measures and Pearson χ2 test for categorical measures. A multivariable linear model was used to assess the association of SNAP participation and eligibility status with change in food insecurity. ResultsIn cross-sectional analyses of 2021 data, no differences were observed between SNAP participants and eligible nonparticipants for food insecurity, food bank use, mean weekly food spending per person, and difficulty paying for basics. However, with respect to changes in food insecurity over the course of the pandemic, SNAP participants experienced a greater improvement in mean food security scores between 2020 and 2021 (–0.52 reduction in mean food insecurity score or a 16% improvement in food security; P ≤ 0.05) relative to SNAP-eligible nonparticipants. Perceived ineligibility (71.3%) and perceived lack of need (23%) were the most common reasons for not participating in SNAP. ConclusionsMore than one-third of SNAP participants and eligible nonparticipants experienced food insecurity and financial hardship. However, there were differences in the changes in food insecurity between these groups.

Addressing food insecurity: what is the role of healthcare?

Food insecurity - when individuals or households have difficulty accessing sufficient, safe, culturally appropriate and nutritious food due to lack of money or other resources - is a global public health concern. Levels of food insecurity have increased across the UK in recent years, due in part to a decade of austerity, widespread loss of income during the COVID-19 pandemic and the more recent cost-of-living crisis, leading to rising use of food banks. The stress of living with uncertain access to food and going periods without food is damaging to physical and mental health. Food insecurity is linked to both obesity and malnutrition, as often the most readily available foods are processed, high in fats, sugars and salt, but low in essential nutrients for health. While recognising that many of the drivers of food insecurity, and health inequalities more broadly (i.e. the social determinants of health) lie outside the health service, it is increasingly acknowledged that the National Health Service - and primary care in particular - has a key role to play in mitigating health inequalities. This review considers the potential role of healthcare in mitigating food insecurity, with a focus on primary care settings. Recent initiatives in Scotland, such as community links workers and general practitioner practice-attached financial advice workers, have shown promise as part of a more community-oriented approach to primary care, which can mitigate the effects of food insecurity. However, a more 'upstream' response is required, including 'cash first' interventions as part of broader national strategies to end the need for food banks.

Food-related worry and food bank use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: results from a nationally representative multi-round study

BackgroundEarly in the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly one in five adults in Canada worried about having enough food to meet their household’s needs. Relatedly, throughout the pandemic, public messaging repeatedly urged Canadians to support food charities, including food banks. Yet few studies have examined food bank usage during the pandemic or whether food charities were widely used by Canadians worried about food access.MethodsThis study draws on four rounds of nationally representative surveying conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic between May 2020 and December 2021 among adults 18 years and older living in Canada. Descriptive statistics were used to examine rates of food-related worry during all four survey rounds. Data from the fourth survey round, collected in December 2021, were used to explore use of food-based community programs since the onset of the pandemic, including food banks. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine differences in socio-demographic and health-related characteristics between adults who did and did not report accessing food banks before and after adjusting for household income.ResultsAcross survey rounds (n = 12,091), more than one in seven participants reported stress or worry related to having enough food to meet their household’s basic needs in the previous two weeks. Yet, by December 2021, fewer than 4% of participants reported ever accessing a food bank during the pandemic. Younger age, living with a child, financial concerns due to the pandemic, two different measures of food worry, pre-existing mental health conditions, disability, LGBT2Q + identity, and racialized or Indigenous identity, were each statistically significantly associated with higher odds of using food banks even when controlling for household income.ConclusionsDespite persistently high rates of food-related worry in 2020 and 2021 in Canada, relatively few adults reported accessing food banks or other charity-based community food programs. While respondents facing social, financial, and health-related inequities and reporting food worry were more likely to use food banks, most respondents did not report food bank use, regardless of financial or demographic circumstances or experiences of food worry. Findings align with previous research indicating that more adequate and comprehensive supports are needed to alleviate food-related-worry in Canada.

A qualitative exploration of a financial inclusion service in an English foodbank.

Foodbanks provide emergency food provision. This need can be triggered by a change in circumstance or a crisis. Failures in the social security safety net are the most significant driver for hunger in the UK. There is some evidence that an advisory service which runs alongside a foodbank is more effective in reducing emergency provision and the duration and severity of hunger. The 'Making a Difference' project at an English foodbank is a pilot scheme aiming to increase financial resilience in their service users. From summer 2022, they introduced new advice worker roles, in partnership with Shelter [Housing advice] and Citizen's Advice [General, debt and benefits advice], aiming to pre-empt the need for foodbank use, to triage the financial needs of service users and refer appropriately to reduce repeat visits to the foodbank. This qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with four staff and four volunteers to evaluate barriers, facilitators and potential friction points in referrals and partnership working. Our data were analysed thematically into four themes: Holistic needs assessment; Reaching seldom heard communities; Empowerment; The needs of staff and volunteers. Two case studies illustrate the complexity of people's needs. A financial inclusion service operating within foodbanks giving housing, debt and benefits advice shows some promise in reaching people in crisis at the point of need. Based within the heart of a community, it appears to meet the complex needs of very vulnerable people who may have found mainstream support services inaccessible. This asset-based approach with the foodbank as a trusted provider enabled joined up, compassionate, holistic, and person-centred advice quickly cutting across multiple agencies, reaching underserved and socially excluded clients. We suggest that supportive services are needed for volunteers and staff who are vulnerable to vicarious trauma from listening and supporting people in crisis.

Diabetes in the cost‐of‐living crisis

Diabetes in the cost‐of‐living crisis

Aged spaces in an era of austerity: Food bank use by older people

AbstractIn the context of austerity and the COVID‐19 pandemic, this paper draws on 17 interviews conducted with frontline staff and volunteers to explore the use of food banks by older people in a highly deprived North‐West borough. Despite high levels of poverty amongst this age group, older people are infrequent users of food banks and it is their absence from these spaces, as opposed to their use of and experiences within food banks, that has often gained attention. By foregrounding this age group, this paper highlights different circumstances of use, generational dynamics involving heightened feelings of shame, and how food banks function as social spaces for older people. In doing so, this paper adds to literature in gerontology around spaces of ageing, as well as research on food banks, by highlighting how experiences in these spaces are differentiated by age. This paper advances discussions around the impact of austerity on the everyday lives of older people. Due to the timing of this research, it also gives insight into how older people and informal social spaces have been affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Food practices adaptation: Exploring the coping strategies of low-socioeconomic status families in times of disruption

COVID-19 impact on global and national food systems, along with associated physical restrictions, lockdowns, and school closures, have led to dramatic changes in families' everyday food practices. Our research explored the way food practices adapted and emerged, allowing families to cope with the disruption caused by COVID-19. We recruited 18 low socio-economic status families with primary school children across the United Kingdom and New Zealand to partake in two interviews, a survey, and the use of an ethnographic app. Analysis illuminates that this disruption triggered the emergence of three practices that were necessary to carry on and mitigate the impact of disrupted food practices; ‘asking for help’, ‘planning’ and ‘research and experimentation’. As a way to deal with disruption to their food practices, many participants called on the support of the community, including the use of food banks and the sharing of food. Participants discussed the way they had to plan their food, which often involved the expansion of practices formerly enacted to a small degree, such as curation of online shopping lists and stockpiling. Food research and experimentation also emerged as largely new practices, such as freezing foods, learning new recipes online (YouTube), experimenting with new ingredients and recipes. As such, for some participants, experimentation and research transformed cooking practices into leisure practices. The findings have practical implications for policy makers and non-governmental organisations, such as providing formal support that is accessible while reducing any associated stigma. Designing interventions that integrate planning routines within food practices can help build skills (e.g., bulk cooking and freezing) which can be vital during disruptions, aiding families to cope with the difficulties and aftermath of sudden and large-scale disruption, such as a pandemic.

Food banks: Understanding their role in the food insecure population in the UK.

The present paper reviews the growing body of literature on food insecurity and food bank use in the UK. It provides an overview of food insecurity in this context, followed by a description of the emergence of food banks, highlighting how any role that food banks play in the food insecure population is limited. Data on food insecurity and food bank use suggest many people experiencing food insecurity do not receive help from food banks. To better understand the factors influencing the relationship between food insecurity and food bank use, a conceptual framework is outlined, suggesting the relationship is far from straightforward and contingent on many factors. The nature and availability of food banks and other local support services and individual-level factors influence the likelihood of food banks being used in the context of food insecurity. Then, the extent to which food banks can impact food insecurity is also dependent on the quantity and quality of food distributed, as well as other support services offered from food banks. Closing reflections highlight rising living costs and food banks reporting that they do not have capacity to cope with increasing demand, underscoring the need for policy interventions. Reliance on food banks to respond to food insecurity may ultimately impede formulation of effective policy interventions to reduce food insecurity, giving the illusion of widespread available support, whilst food insecurity persists among those receiving help from food banks and those who experience food insecurity but do not use food banks.

Optimization of volunteer task assignments to improve volunteer retention and nonprofit organizational performance

Deploying the skills and experiences of nonprofit employees and volunteers is challenging due to resource constraints on nonprofit organizations and the salient characteristics of volunteer labor. This research introduces an integer linear program to make volunteer and employee task assignments for a planned nonprofit program that captures the impact of task assignments on volunteer retention in future periods. Assignments are made to balance the need for urgency of current tasks, organizational task preferences, volunteer trainings, and volunteer preferences (which impact retention). The deterministic optimization model is evaluated using a computational design of experiments with a food bank use case and a simulation model that incorporates uncertainty in volunteer preferences and retention. The developed model, which captures the impact of task assignment on expected volunteer retention, is compared to a simpler benchmark that ignores task assignment's impact on volunteer retention and instead makes assignments maximizing the organization's preferences. The proposed approach is found to be beneficial to nonprofits, even when an NPO has uncertainty in their estimates for volunteer preferences and volunteer retention threshold values.

Understanding the post-2010 increase in food bank use in England: new quasi-experimental analysis of the role of welfare policy

BackgroundThe number of food banks (charitable outlets of emergency food parcels) and the volume of food distributed by them increased multi-fold in the United Kingdom (UK) since 2010. The overwhelming majority of users of food banks are severely food insecure. Since food insecurity implies a nutritionally inadequate diet, and poor dietary intake has been linked to a number of diseases and chronic conditions, the rise in the number of people using food banks is a phenomenon of significant importance for public health. However, there is a shortage of robust, causal statistical analyses of drivers of food bank use, hindering social and political action on alleviating severe food insecurity.MethodsA panel dataset of 325 local authorities in England was constructed, spanning 9 years (2011/12–2019/20). The dataset included information about the volume of parcels and the number of food banks in the Trussell Trust network, as well as economy-related, welfare system-related and housing-related variables. A quasi-experimental approach was employed in the form of a ‘first differencing’ ecological model, predicting the number of food parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network. This neutralised bias from omitting time-constant unobserved confounders.ResultsSeven predictors in the model were statistically significant, including four related to the welfare system: the value of the main out-of-work benefit; the roll-out of Universal Credit; benefit sanctions; and the ‘bedroom tax’ in social housing. Of the remaining three significant predictors, one regarded the ‘supply’ side (the number of food banks in the area) and two regarded the ‘demand’ side (the proportion of working age population on out-of-work benefits; the proportion of working age population who were unemployed).ConclusionThe structure of the welfare system has been partly responsible for driving food bank use in the UK since 2011. Severe food insecurity could be alleviated by reforming aspects of the benefit system that have been evidenced to be implicated in the rise in food bank use. More broadly, the findings provide support for ‘Health and Health Equity in All Policies’ approach to policymaking.

Changes to local area public sector spending and food purchasing in England: a longitudinal ecological study

ObjectivesChanges in public sector service spending may influence food consumption. We make use of changing local authority (LA) expenditure in England to assess impacts on food purchasing. We examine total...

Impacts of local area public sector spending and food purchasing in England: a panel study

Abstract Background The UK adopted austerity policies in 2010, leading to reduced public sector spending. Reductions in local authority (LA) highways and transport expenditure may affect food access, and decreases in LA housing service expenditure may reduce financial resources for many. Impacts of these changes on food purchasing have not yet been investigated. Methods We used publicly available data for 324 English LAs between 2008-15. Highways and transport service expenditure and housing service expenditure were the exposures, log transformed to account for diminishing returns. Food purchasing outcomes were fresh fruit and vegetables; foods high in fat, salt, and sugars (HFSS); and takeaways, as a proportion of total food and drink purchases. We used fixed effects linear regression models adjusting for local socio-demographics with robust standard errors. We stratified by Index of Multiple Deprivation and rural/urban area status. Results A 10% reduction in highways and transport expenditure was associated with a 0.005 (p = 0.002) percentage point decrease in fruit and vegetable purchases and a 0.006 (p = 0.010) percentage point increase in takeaway purchases, both as a proportion of total food and drink purchasing. Both results were only statistically significant in urban areas when stratified by rural/urban area status. A 10% decrease in housing expenditure was associated with a 0.006 percentage point decrease in HFSS purchasing as a proportion of total food and drink expenditure (p = 0.001). Conclusions This is the first time that impacts of reductions in public sector spending on food purchasing have been investigated. Our research highlights that these changes may affect diets of the whole population in addition to existing evidence around impacts on foodbank use. Reductions in public spending may impact food purchasing, suggesting that austerity policies may have impacts on diets and health. Further research at the individual level is needed. Key messages To our knowledge, our research is the first time impacts of reductions in public sector spending on food purchases have been investigated. Reductions in local authority highways and transport and housing service expenditure may lead to decreased fruit and vegetables and unhealthy food purchases and increased takeaway purchases.

The Food Bank and Food Pantries Help Food Insecure Participants Maintain Fruit and Vegetable Intake During COVID-19.

Charitable food services, including food banks and pantries, support individual and households' food access, potentially maintaining food security and diet quality during emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of food banks and pantries has increased in the US. Here we examine perceptions of food banks and food pantries and their relationship to food security and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, using a statewide representative survey (n = 600) of residents of Vermont. The utilization of food pantries was more common among food insecure households and households with children. Among food insecure respondents, those who did not use a food pantry were significantly more likely to report consuming less FV during the pandemic. Further, we find respondents who are food insecure and using a food pantry report consuming more FV since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that respondents who were both food insecure and reported not using a food pantry were significantly more likely to report both a reduction in fruit consumption (b = −0.58; p = 0.001) and a reduction in vegetable consumption (b = −0.415; p = 0.012). These results indicate that these services may support food access and one important dimension of diet quality (FV intake) for at-risk populations during emergencies.

Changes in perceived food insecurity and eating behavior in the Netherlands since the COVID-19-crisis

SamenvattingIn dit onderzoek beschrijven we veranderingen in ervaren voedselzekerheid en eetgewoonten in Nederland sinds het begin van de COVID-19-crisis, hoe deze veranderingen werden ervaren, en welke mogelijkheden werden aangegeven voor een gezonder eetpatroon. Het onderzoek werd uitgevoerd met online vragenlijsten onder volwassenen in Nederland met een relatief lage sociaaleconomische positie (n = 1.033). De resultaten laten veranderingen in ervaren voedselzekerheid zien sinds het begin van de COVID-19-crisis: zowel richting een hogere als een lagere ervaren voedselzekerheid. Ongeveer een vijfde van de deelnemers gaf een veranderd eetpatroon aan sinds het begin van de COVID-19-crisis, terwijl meer dan de helft van de deelnemers met een verminderde voedselzekerheid een veranderd eetpatroon rapporteerde: zij gaven aan minder gezond en minder groente en fruit te eten. Deelnemers met een verminderde voedselzekerheid hadden vaker behoefte aan hulp bij gezonder eten. Een goedkoper voedselaanbod werd gezien als een oplossing, terwijl voedselbankgebruik weinig werd genoemd als mogelijke hulp voor een gezonder eetpatroon. De COVID-19-crisis leidt tot financiële onzekerheid bij veel mensen en ook tot veranderingen in de beschikbaarheid van voedsel – bekende risicofactoren voor een verminderde voedselzekerheid. Daarom benadrukken deze bevindingen de urgentie van maatregelen om voedselzekerheid te verhogen en gepaste hulp en ondersteuning te bieden bij een gezond eetpatroon, vooral voor mensen met een verminderde voedselzekerheid.Digitaal aanvullende contentDe online versie van dit artikel (10.1007/s12508-021-00311-0) bevat aanvullend materiaal, toegankelijk voor daartoe geautoriseerde gebruikers.

Newspaper coverage of food insecurity in UK, 2016\u20132019: a multi-method analysis

BackgroundFood insecurity is a growing concern in the UK. Newspaper coverage can reflect and shape public and political views. We examined how frequently food insecurity was reported on in UK newspapers, how the problem and its drivers were described, and which solutions were proposed.MethodsUsing Factiva, we searched for news articles that were substantively about food insecurity and published in national UK newspapers between 01 January 2016 and 11 June 2019. We examined whether the number of articles differed over the study period, and conducted a thematic analysis to theoretical saturation using a random sample of articles.ResultsOverall, 436 articles met our inclusion criteria and 132 (30%) were analysed thematically. Reporting was more prevalent in the summer, with mentions of ‘holiday hunger’ among children, and leading up to Christmas, when charity was encouraged. Articles often contained views from advocacy groups and charities, who appeared to play an important role in maintaining news interest in food insecurity. From the thematic analysis, we developed themes related to the problems (‘definitions of food insecurity’ and ‘consequences of food insecurity for individuals’), drivers (‘insufficient income as an immediate driver’ and ‘government versus individual responsibility’), and solutions (‘charitable food aid’ and ‘calls for government action’). The problem of food insecurity was often defined by food bank use or hunger, but other definitions and a range of consequences for individuals were acknowledged. Articles identified government as a driver of food insecurity, especially in relation to the roll-out of Universal Credit. Few articles proposed individual failings as a driver of food insecurity. The reported existing solutions predominantly focused on food banking and redistributing ‘food waste’. The public, charities, and individuals experiencing food insecurity were generally portrayed as supportive of government action to tackle food insecurity. However, contention within government regarding the extent of food insecurity, governmental responsibility and potential solutions was reported.ConclusionsFood insecurity was a topic of significant interest within UK newspapers. Newspapers were used to call for government action and advocate for structural, income-based solutions.

The Impact of Covid-19 on Food Security. A qualitative analysis of the rise in London’s existing food insecurity due to the financial impact of Covid-19

Background: The lockdown, enforced by government to limit the spread of Covid-19, has resulted in economic standstill equating to decreased working hours, pay cuts and job losses which has caused an increase in food insecurity. In the latest global food security report, 3.4 million people in the UK alone were found to be moderately to severely food insecure. Since the lockdown began, 8 million people have reported food insecurity which disproportionately effects those most vulnerable. This study aims to determine who these vulnerable groups to food insecurity are in the UK and what needs to be done to facilitate positive change and minimise future inequalities.
 Methods: This observational quantitative study makes use of the Understanding Society Covid-19 survey data which forms part of a longstanding longitudinal study that has acted as a representative of all households within the UK since 2009. Access to raw data was granted by the UK Data Service and was analysed using the appropriate SPSS tests. The original sample was stratified to be representative of London, which then consisted of 1849 respondents. Selected questions relating to financial and food bank use were analysed using SPSS and compared between February (pre-lockdown) and April (post-lockdown).
 Results: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) respondents and those not born in the UK had significantly less monthly income than their counterparts in February and remained significantly lower during the lockdown. These groups also had an increased dependency on foodbanks since the start of the pandemic.
 Conclusion: BAME communities and those not born in the UK are revealed to be the most vulnerable groups to food insecurity. The government has taken steps to mitigate the negative financial impact of the pandemic for some, yet many had to rely on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to fill in the gaps. The current health crisis provides an opportunity for change and the UK government should act now to prevent many more becoming victims to food insecurity.

The relationship between austerity and food insecurity in the UK: A systematic review.

BackgroundIn 2010, the UK government implemented austerity measures, involving reductions to public spending and welfare reform. We aimed to systematically review the relationship of austerity policies with food insecurity including foodbank use in the UK.MethodsWe undertook a narrative systematic review (CRD42020164508) and searched seven databases, grey literature, and reference lists through September 2020. Studies with austerity policies (including welfare reform) as exposure and food insecurity (including foodbank use as a proxy) as study outcome were included. We included quantitative longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. Two reviewers assessed eligibility, extracted data directly from studies, and undertook quality assessment.FindingsEight studies were included: two individual-level studies totalling 4129 participants and six ecological studies. All suggested a relationship between austerity and increased food insecurity. Two studies found that austerity policies were associated with increased food insecurity in European countries including the UK. Six studies found that the welfare reform aspect of UK austerity policies was associated with increased food insecurity and foodbank use. Sanctions involving delays to benefits as a response to a claimant not actively seeking work may increase food insecurity, with studies finding that increases of 100 sanctions per 100,000 people may have led to increases of between 2 and 36 food parcels per 100,000 population.InterpretationUK austerity policies were consistently linked to food insecurity and foodbank use. Policymakers should consider impacts of austerity on food insecurity when considering how to reduce budget deficits.FundingNIHR School for Public Health Research.