A major new study by the University of Sheffield, Comic Relief and Sainsbury’s has found that over one in five low-income families lack consistent access to nutritious food.
The study said the UK’s food insecurity crisis was a systemic problem, driven by financial precarity and an unequal food environment. It revealed the strongest predictor of food insecurity was an inability to pay unexpected costs – households that cannot afford a sudden £100 expense are six times more likely to experience food insecurity, making it a more significant predictor than income level.
The report identified food clubs as an effective and preventative model that delivers more than emergency aid and helps members move from acute crisis back to long-term food security. However, the research found that only one in five people actually know what a food club is.
The work represents the first large-scale independent study of food clubs and posits that food security is determined by a complex interplay of factors including housing tenure, geographical location and local food quality.
Food clubs offer heavily discounted groceries to members without the need for a referral. Advocates suggest the small fee paid by members for the food helps provide them with greater dignity and tackles the stigma associated with receiving free ‘handouts’ at food banks or similar.
Food clubs also often provide more of a ‘community feel’ than many food banks and help connect people to additional support services, including benefits and debt advice, health services and employment and training services.
‘A great model for the government’
The study’s lead author, Dr Megan Blake of the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food, called on the government to treat food clubs as essential public health infrastructure. In the study, she set out a raft of measures to tackle national food insecurity.
“Food insecurity is not an isolated problem of individual failure in the UK…it’s a systemic problem driven by deep financial precarity and by a lack of access to fresh, nutritious food,” said Blake.
“Members of food clubs not only reported eating a high-quality diet with an increased amount and variety of fruits and vegetables than those who use food banks alone, they also consistently report significantly higher wellbeing scores and have a more positive outlook overall. Yet only a fifth of respondents (21.8%) to our research actually knew what a food club was.
“Whilst food banks are an important short-term intervention in a moment of crisis to avert immediate hunger, they are often accessed by referral only and can sometimes provide limited options. The findings of our report suggest the value of food clubs is that the long-term holistic support and stability they offer can be less stigmatising and provide a genuine pathway from food insecurity to resilience for a larger proportion of households.
“This makes them a great model for the government to champion and take action to reduce the number of people falling into acute crises through food insecurity.”
The research also highlights the powerful reparative and preventative effects of the food club model. While many households join at a point of acute crisis – with new members being three times more likely to face severe food insecurity – this hardship significantly diminishes over time.
For those who remain members for over a year, the data shows a steady progression toward stability, with long-term members reporting dramatically higher levels of food security and a reduced reliance on emergency aid. As opposed to being a short-term fix, the clubs act as a rung on the ladder to recovery, helping families shore up their budgets and move permanently away from the brink of crisis.
Ruth Cranston, director of sustainability at Sainsbury’s, which has helped fund nearly 600 food clubs across the UK, said: “As this research shows, too many families struggle to access the nutritious food they need to thrive. Food clubs are a critical part of the solution and make a real difference to thousands of people each day.”
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