Fair Food Futures UK

This project runs from April 2023 to October 2025 and is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

• Background
• Methodology
• Team
• Related links
• Outputs 

Background

One in five families with children in the UK live in a household where they cannot regularly access affordable and healthy food, known as ‘food insecurity’. This negatively affects physical and mental health. Community food organisations across the UK provide food support, and/or other kinds of support to prevent the need for emergency food support. Yet only about half of those who need support use a community food organisation.

This NIHR-funded project brings together researchers from UCL, the University of York and the Bradford Institute for Health Research, with staff from Tower Hamlets (London) and Bradford local authorities, and people with lived experience of food insecurity. The project aims to find out which models of food support are most beneficial to families who do not have access to regular meals in Tower Hamlets and Bradford.

In Tower Hamlets, the project is led by Dr Rachel Benchekroun and Professor Claire Cameron. 

The wider study aims to help local authorities and the national government invest in the most accessible and helpful resources for families who experience food insecurity. The study is linked with the ActEarly Consortium and Fix Our Food.

If you work at an organisation that provides food support and would like to help, please complete our survey.

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Methodology

The project will have several stages which will be mirrored in Bradford, West Yorkshire:

1. An online/phone survey targeted at those involved in running community food organisations that aims to understand what type of support is available, how it is used, and who it is used by.
2. Workshops and interviews with people either using or working/volunteering at community food organisations or working in a related field. This will help to understand how different organisations work together and help to produce a map of the food help system in the area.
3. A researcher will volunteer at three to four community food organisations for a year.
4. The researcher will carry out ‘go-along’ interviews with families to understand what role food organisations play in their life. This is an interview where a researcher spends a few hours with a family while they are getting on with their normal activities.
5. Researchers will interview families experiencing food insecurity who do not use community food organisations, to understand why they do not use them and how they manage to meet their needs.
6. Families will also be invited to share photos and videos of things that are important to them about food with the researchers.

The findings will be shared with local and national government, academics, local organisations and people experiencing food insecurity with the aim of improving the system and reducing the need for emergency food support.

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Team

Chief investigators

• Dr Laura Sheard (University of York)
• Prof Maria Bryant (University of York)

Researchers

• Dr Rachel Benchekroun (UCL)
• Dr Giorgia Previdoli (University of York)
• Dr Wendy Burton (University of York)
• Dr Philip Hadley (University of York)

Co-investigators

• Prof Claire Cameron (UCL)
• Prof Bob Doherty (University of York)
• Dr Ariadne Kapetanaki (University of York)
• Shahid Islam (Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)
• Dr Madeleine Power (University of York)
• Prof Kate Pickett (University of York)
• Rose Dunlop (Deputy Director Public Health, Bradford Council)
• Sairah Mirza (Public Involvement Representative)
• Ellie Kershaw (Head of Tackling Poverty, Tower Hamlets Council)

Public Involvement Panel

In conducting this study, we are supported by a diverse group of eight members of the public. The group advises the team on all aspects of the research, bringing in different perspectives and lived experiences.
Their contribution is essential to ensure that our research is relevant and meaningful to the wider population.

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Related links

• Fair Food Futures UK project website
• UCL Social Research Institute
• National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)

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Outputs

Tackling food insecurity through different models of local support

This briefing is for stakeholders involved or interested in the provision of food at a local level. We draw out early findings on local-level community food provision, highlighting examples from Tower Hamlets and Bradford.
 
To build a detailed picture of the community food support system, we carried out a survey of organisations, systems mapping workshops with staff and people experiencing food insecurity and interviews with stakeholders. Data were collected in Bradford and Tower Hamlets between July 2023 and April 2024.
 
Our research highlighted the scale and diversity of the sector; different ways to alleviate, reduce or prevent food insecurity; and challenges and uncertainties in the sector.
 
Our recommendations offer short-term strategies, including coordinating provision across local authorities and supporting community food organisations to identify and address people’s underlying needs. Our long-term recommendations include reform of the social security system and focusing on ‘cash first’ approaches.

Briefing: Policy Brief: Tackling Food Insecurity Through Different Local Models of Support

Report: Tackling Food Insecurity Through Different Local Models of Support

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