Research into the people who use foodbanks

There is little data on the psycho-social determinants of the food consumption and wellbeing of foodbank users and both DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Faculty of Public Health have highlighted the urgency to investigate this matter.

This Grand Challenges Small Grant, brought together researchers from UCL School of Pharmacy and Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, and explored the reasons for using foodbanks, and the impact of acute financial hardship on their food expenditures and diet.

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The findings of the research suggest that most of the users need to use foodbanks due to benefits-related problems (i.e. delay or being 'sanctioned') or because of unexpected life events (e.g. bereavement or illness) which led them to experience income crisis and acute food poverty. The quality of people's diets were affected by the coping strategies employed to maintain food sufficiency (i.e. purchase of cheap foods) and competing expenditures, which forced users to choose between 'heating' or 'eating'. Foodbank personnel agreed with our findings and encouraged us to design a future intervention to improve users' diet and well-being.  

Academically, this activity contributed to the knowledge of the drivers of foodbank use in the UK and the impact of food poverty on the users' quality of diet and health. The findings will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Non-academically, this activity helped to foster a good relationship between UCL and The Trussell Trust, which is the biggest Food Aid provider in the UK. The Trust is encouraging the research group to continue their study in the future to improve their users' health and well-being. The Division of Medicine has also provided another £7,500 in support for seven MSc projects.