Background

Food is central to a healthy life, impacting multiple aspects of our health and wellbeing and the number of years we live.

For people to reach their potential they need all the right ‘building blocks’ in place: stable jobs, good pay, safe and stable housing, good education and access to healthy food. However, both nationally and locally, for some people many of these ‘blocks’ are missing.

Access to affordable healthy food is vital for good health, however many people in the UK are struggling to meet basic food needs which could result in ill health such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and chronic stress, resulting in lives cut short.

This profile pack explores the role and impact of food insecurity as a building block of health and provides recommendations for further action.

National Context

Food insecurity relates to the inability, or uncertainty to access an adequate quality or quantity of food. The term food insecurity and food poverty are often used synonymously. The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) states that a person is food insecure when they lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life. This may be due to unavailability of food and lack of resources to obtain food. The FAO measures food insecurity using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale:

• Food secure/ mild food insecurity –uncertainty on ability to obtain food
• Moderate food insecurity - compromising on the quality and variety of food/ reducing the food quality, skipping meals
• Severe food insecurity – no food for a day or more

Food insecurity is driven by multiple factors such as access to food, affordability of food and cooking, and capability to prepare and cook food. Other factors include income, employment, and financial resilience. Currently it is thought that a range of global and national factors such as climate change, conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted on food supply chains and access and affordability of healthy food. This has been exacerbated by cost-of-living pressures. Food price inflation reached a 45 year high of 19.1% in March 2023.

According to The Food Foundation, 9 million adults (17% of households) experienced food insecurity in the UK in June 2023, an increase from 7.3% in August 2021. Nationally the number of people given crisis support (food bank referrals and emergency charitable support) more than tripled between March 2020 and March 2023.

Certain household are more at risk of food insecurity, including low-income households, unemployed, households with dependant children, people living with disabilities, minority ethnic households and people between the ages of 16-34. Groups at risk of poverty are also at risk of food insecurity. The poorest fifth of UK households would need to spend 50% of their disposable income on food to meet the cost of the recommended healthy diet, compared to 11% for the richest fifth of UK households. Nationally 1 in 4 households with children have experienced food insecurity.

Food insecurity has negative health impacts across all ages with increased risk to physical and mental health. There is an increased risk of high blood pressure, obesity, cardiovascular disease, poor sleep, depression and stress within adults. Food insecurity negatively impacts on child development in the early years and an increased risk of weight gain leading to childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Malnutrition is estimated to cost the NHS in England £19.6 billion per year, and the cost of treating obesity related ill health is forecast to rise to £9.7 billion per year by 2050.

Local Context

In Nottinghamshire, it is estimated that the number of households experiencing food insecurity increased from 65,707 in 2021 to 110,000 in June 2023.

The estimated number of adults in Nottinghamshire likely to have not eaten for a whole day because they could not afford, or access food increased from 21,426 in 2022 to 38,200 in June 2023.

In 2021 19.5% of Nottinghamshire residents were living in areas at highest risk of food insecurity. There is a significant geographical inequality in the experience of food insecurity across Nottinghamshire. Mansfield (53%), Ashfield (29.1%) and Bassetlaw (29.9%) are above the Nottinghamshire average and this means that people who live in these areas are more at risk of food insecurity.

Deprivation can be an indication of food insecurity risk, specifically when used in conjunction with other risk factor data such as age and employment status. Current Nottinghamshire modelled data shows that 16% of the population live in the 20% most deprived areas in the country.

Food insecurity is a newly recognised and important issue impacting health and wellbeing. Nottinghamshire has an emerging food infrastructure through its partnerships at County and District and Borough levels which supports community engagement, planning and intervention.

Unmet Needs and Service Gaps

• There are high and growing levels of food insecurity across Nottinghamshire and further support is required to address the drivers of food insecurity, particularly in the areas most in need.
• There are currently gaps in understanding and knowledge of food insecurity within Services and where to signpost for support.
• There is a lack of consistent data and insight into food insecurity in Nottinghamshire. Currently much of this data is either incomplete or out of date.

Recommendations for consideration

Kathy Holmes                                                             
Public Health and Commissioning Manager                                                                              
kathy.holmes@nottscc.gov.uk

Dawn Jenkin                                                             
Consultant in Public Health                                                                              
dawn.jenkin@nottscc.gov.uk