Research outputs
Tackling food insecurity through different models of local support -National policy briefing in response to the UK Food Security Report 2024
This briefing highlights findings from our research with community food organisations and experts working across the UK. It provides recommendations for policymakers and any other interested parties in addressing food insecurity in families at a national level. This briefing is particularly relevant for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, especially in developing a new Food Security Strategy, as well as the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. It is also intended to inform national policy on addressing poverty more broadly, including the government’s Child Poverty Strategy
Data were gathered from interviews and 5 workshops run between October 2023 and April 2024. We interviewed representatives from 36 organisations, including regional and national networks.
While CFOs provide a range of activities and services of value to communities, our research points to a series of significant sustainability challenges, alongside a need for broader policy change and action within and outside of the scope of the CFO sector.
There is an urgent need for action to address the scale of poverty in the UK. National and local government plays a key role in this, especially to support household incomes. Without such action, the challenges noted above and the dilemmas faced by CFOs in seeking to support ever-rising levels of need, are unlikely to be addressed, while levels of food insecurity and poverty are likely to continue to rise.
Outputs for national government and devolved nations
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 Bradford and Tower Hamlets, London.
To build a detailed picture of the community food support system, we carried out a survey of organisations, systems mapping workshops with staff and service users 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.