Addressing the rising tide of food insecurity in the UK
“Cash first” approaches to food poverty, where cash payments are given to people so that they can purchase food, works for some. But as FAWN member Dr Megan Blake argues, cash transfers can also go toward other priorities, such as debt or rent, rather than food. They do not improve health, job prospects or long-term income of those in need.
Poverty and deprivation affect not only people but also the places where they live. It hollows out community resources such as the availability of healthy food, collective food knowledge, and social infrastructures that build resilience. People also become afraid to leave their homes, because of isolation and fear. This also impacts their ability to access good food because they avoid going out.
In the UK food insecurity is on the rise, even though we are a wealthy country with enough food to feed everyone well. At the household scale, food insecurity is the inability to have the food necessary to live a healthy life. For those experiencing food insecurity, mental and physical health suffers, which in turn creates further demands on the public purse.
Continuing Food Insecurity
Rates of food insecurity in England have increased since before the pandemic. In 2018 about ten per cent of the adult population were skipping meals or going without food. By the summer/autumn of 2020 the rate was sixteen per cent. In the autumn of 2022, the rate was twenty-four per cent. In 2022, those who struggle most are adults living in the most deprived communities (40%), those on incomes less than £32k per year (46%), and those who are not employed (45%). Although impacted less, the rate of insecurity for those who earn more than £32K per year more than doubled between 2020 and 2022 (from 7.9% to 18.7%). By 2022, one in four adults in work are also food insecure, up from sixteen per cent.
As financial worries intensify, diets narrow to include only those foods that fill the stomach, and are frequently highly processed, which in turn contributes to diet-related ill health. As health deteriorates, people’s ability to travel to the shops and carry home groceries declines. Poor health also impacts people’s ability to cook food because the strength needed to stand at a cooker or lift a heavy pan is undermined. It also impacts on the ability to work.
Place Matters
Poverty and deprivation affect not only people but also the places where they live. It hollows out community resources such as the availability of healthy food, collective food knowledge, and social infrastructures that build resilience. People also become afraid to leave their homes, because of isolation and fear. This also impacts their ability to access good food because they avoid going out.
‘Cash First’ vs Food Ladders
There are two ways we approach this problem. The first is by seeing food insecurity as a lack of affordability. The second is through a social development model.
Affordability approaches, like food banks, focus on immediate solutions to hunger. More recently, this has transitioned to a “cash first” approach, where cash payments are given to people so that they can purchase food. This works for some. When cost-of-living crisis payments were distributed food bank use decreased. However, research shows food bank use is not a good indicator of food insecurity. Moreover, people still must travel to access the food because local availability has not improved. Food purchases are also not likely to include a higher volume of healthy items. People use cash transfers to buy more of what they have purchased before or treats. They buy shelf-stable items because they can be saved for the future when money is inevitably tight, and they purchase treats because life is hard and these foods express love and care. We saw this in the pandemic with the free lunch vouchers. Cash transfers can also go toward other priorities, such as debt or rent, rather than food. They do not improve health, job prospects or long-term income.
The second approach, the social development model, recognises struggle as a lack of resources. Resources include money but also food skills and knowledge, social connections, physical health, and mental wellbeing. These factors deteriorate as food insecurity increases. To address poverty, we also need to repair the places where people live by improving the ability to create or access resources.
The Food Ladders approach is an example of the social development model. It is a community-based strategy that works alongside efforts to increase the availability of jobs that provide a living wage and adequate benefits for those out of work. It aims to build resilience and long-term solutions. The food ladders approach emphasises food's social and cultural aspects and nutritional value. It encourages communities to unite, share resources, and build skills to improve food security.
The Food Ladders approach is now being utilised by councils across the UK to inform local food strategies, by trusts and foundations to inform funding decisions, and within local communities. It gives a framework within which communities can situate their activity and recognise their assets to achieve shared aims. These communities can use it to identify patterns of struggle and the necessary solutions while giving voice and agency to those experiencing struggle. While the problems are significant, community work reveals more hope than despair. Collaboration offers a path forward.
