Food Poverty and Health Inequalities Dr Sinéad Furey, Belfast

Food Poverty and Health Inequalities Dr Sinéad Furey, Belfast Food Network

Belfast Food Network The right to food What is food poverty? Causes of food poverty Food poverty research Health inequalities

Sustainable Food Cities BFN founding member of Sustainable Food Cities; The Sustainable Food Cities approach is a tried and tested model for driving positive change which involves the 3 Ps: Establishing an effective cross-sector Food Partnership Est. Advisory Group 2013 BCC, SFC, PHA, FSA, Experts, EANI, Universities, CIEH, SNI, NIEL, Healthy Cities, Food NI, Yellow Door, Now Project Embedding healthy and sustainable food in Policy Working to influence policy on all food related policies from health to agriculture Developing and delivering a food strategy and Action Plan BFN delivered a substantial city wide plan with input from over 45 organisations, resulting in Belfast securing a Bronze SFC Award in 2016.

Belfast Food Network (BFN) BFN works across 6 broad strategic themes that include tackling food poverty and diet related ill-health, reducing ecological impact of farming, increasing food knowledge and skills, procurement, climate mitigation, food waste and building a diverse sustainable food economy. BFN Food Poverty Working Group est. 2016 with 23 organisations BFN’s ‘Enough is Enough' project: – Works with people affected by food poverty to explore and develop long term solutions to food poverty in communities – Explores the reasons behind the rising use of food banks and other forms of food support – Identifies initiatives tackling food poverty, including food banks, community gardens, meal clubs etc.

Our collaborative Food Poverty Plan covers seven themes; 1- Promoting access to healthy fresh food through community shops and social supermarkets 2 - Building community food knowledge, skills and cooking 3 - Tackling child hunger 4 - Promoting the availability of fresh, healthy food through community gardens 5 - Increasing access to advice and support services 6 - Determining best practice for monitoring food poverty 7 - Strengthening advocacy and influencing food poverty-related policies

BFN Food Poverty Working Group Main Outcomes; Scoping Survey to create a food poverty baseline in Belfast Collaborative Response To Food Poverty being delivered by 23 organisations Developed ‘Nourish’ a rights-based food citizenship programme Secured 1.6million for Community Shops / Welfare Reform Mitigations Working Group NI Members of UK Food Poverty Alliance, Food Power and Food Foundation’s Peas Please Campaign

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (Article 25) enshrines the right to food: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food.” International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) Both explicitly name adequate food and housing as basic human rights. Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2015) No Poverty Zero Hunger We need to protect this right and address the gap between income and food costs.

FOOD POVERTY Food poverty is the inability to consume an adequate quality and quantity of food in socially acceptable ways or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so (Dowler, 2003) at is foodcountry insecu y?world yet we face a growing epidemic of The UK is W thehfifth richest inrit the hidden hunger with people increasingly unable to meet their family’s basic needs. Being food secure means being sure of your ability to secure, at all times, enough food of sufficient quality and quantity, to allow you to stay healthy and participate in society. Food insecurity is defined as: has all the signs of a public health emergency that could go UK food poverty unrecognised until Limited it is too late to take preventive action [British Medical Journal, or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (e.g. without December 2013]. uncertain resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing or other coping strategies) Food poverty has overtaken healthy eating as a most pressing public health concern. Food insecurity has varying degrees severity. Early whether thereeat will at “Some people in the country are notofbeing able tostages eat involve at all worry and ifabout people can’t be enough food, followed by compromising quality, variety and quantity of food. Going without food experiencing are most severe stages to (see eat Figure 1). all, what’sand the point inhunger trying to get them healthily?” [Derbyshire County Council, 2014]. Figure 1 1

NORTHERN IRELAND IN CONTEXT Poverty 18% living in relative poverty, before housing costs (Department for Communities, 2018). Food Security 3% had not eaten a substantial meal at least one day in the last fortnight due to a lack of money. Rises to 6% for the most deprived quintile (Department of Health, 2018). Low income households spend more than their higher income counterparts on food and non alcoholic drinks (13.6% cf. 7.8%; average 10.5%).

THE RESEARCH EFFORT HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLE Understanding Food in the Context of Poverty, Economic Insecurity and Social Exclusion A report for the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland Final version April 2015

ULSTER UNIVERSITY RESEARCH Survey of 944 people between September and November 2018 Between one in five (21.2%) and one in three (35.7%) reported experiencing at least one symptom of food poverty concerned with worry about running out of food or not eating enough. Previously there was no agreed indicator by which to measure food poverty GOOD NEWS: From April 2019 the UK Government will measure food poverty (HFSS, 10-item measure) – results available from April 2021 (Butler, 2019)

FOOD BANKS IN NI There are 38 food bank centres in the Trussell Trust's network in Northern Ireland. They issued 36,783 emergency food parcels to people in need in 2018/19 - the highest number of parcels handed out since comparable records were first published in 2012/13. More than 1 in 3 of these food parcels - or 15,191 was for a child. Remember, there are also independent food banks across Northern Ireland. AND about 8 out of 10 living in food poverty don’t use a food bank or charity provision, they rely on family networks and credit/ savings/ borrowing. Food banks are a temporary sticking plaster on a gaping wound!

3-DAY EMERGENCY FOOD PARCEL FROM A FOOD BANK

(IN)EQUALITY? Consensual shopping basket methodology for Minimum Essential Standard of Living (Safefood et al, 2016) Prices compared against The normal price of the cheapest option for each food bank food item (mysupermarket.co.uk) from four supermarkets (Asda, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Tesco)

FINDINGS The lowest-priced, one-week food list 17.66 (Caraher & Furey, 2018) Consensual budget standard for a lone pensioner’s food basket 57.05 (safefood et al, 2016) Average UK household food expenditure 56.80 (Office for National Statistics, 2017) X 3.2 cost differential Two very different dietary experiences.

FOOD BANKS & THEIR CONTRIBUTION/ DETRACTION FROM WELFARE BUDGETS The charitable sector is currently contributing 60 - 75 million as food aid. Equivalent to 0.02/0.03% of the total UK Government's welfare budget or 0.4% of the allocation to social welfare. The hidden costs of not doing this will be found in increasing chronic disease and mental health costs, we ask the question — can we afford not to do this?

People go hungry and are overweight - the same groups The Nutrition Paradox / The Dual Burden

BACK TO THE BEGINNING Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food.” Food poverty is the inability to consume an adequate quality and quantity of food in socially acceptable ways or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so (Dowler, 2003)

CONCLUSION Food poverty requires a long-term, sustainable solution. We need to address the policy issues under focus: low income; under/unemployment; rising food prices; and Welfare Reform Parallel action needs to be taken to ensure that all households can access, afford and avail of quality, healthy food that meets their right to food in socially acceptable and inclusive ways. “Tackling food poverty needs to be re-conceptualised not as a cost but as an investment in the future health of vulnerable groups in our society.” Martin Caraher - Food Poverty Fact or Fiction?

ANY QUESTIONS? [email protected] If you’d like to get involved in Sustainable Food Cities Contact Kerry@belfastfoodnetwork