Food Foundation calls for UK government action on growing food insecurity among essential workers

23 Mar 2023 --- The UK Food Foundation finds that food insecurity reached 24.9% of households with National Health Service (NHS) employees and social care workers in January 2023. Food insecurity amounted to 25.8% for families of food sector workers and 21.1% for households of education sector workers.

Of all households facing food insecurity in January 2023, 38.6% had jobs, while 49% of households receiving government benefits experienced food insecurity. In the same month, 18% of households experienced food insecurity. 

“These levels have more than doubled over the last year in the face of the cost of living crisis. Food insecurity is significantly higher now than ever during the pandemic. Hence, the need to tackle the problem is greater than ever,” Shona Goudie tells NutritionInsight, policy research manager at the Food Foundation. 

“We see that being in work is not enough to protect people from food insecurity, partly because of low wages,” she underscores. “The food cost has risen rapidly in the past year and wages haven’t kept pace.”

A quarter of NHS and social worker households faced food insecurity in January 2023 (Image credit: Food Foundation).“To tackle food insecurity and issues around affordability of a healthy diet, we need to address income and food price issues.”

Food insecurity levels 
For NHS and social care workers, food insecurity is highest for nurses (26.1%) and social care workers (27.9%). For education workers, teaching assistants faced more elevated levels of food insecurity (21%) than teachers (17.8%). 

Data was provided by YouGov Plc, which sampled 10,814 UK adults in an online survey. Participants were classified as food insecure if they could not afford or access food and thus had smaller meals than usual or skipped meals, were hungry but did not eat, or did not eat for a whole day. 

“It’s time that the government and employers paid the decent wages that all key workers deserve,” urges Rachel Harrison, national secretary at GMB trade union. 

“Pay rates are desperately low across care and school support staff roles. Too many of these workers – who do vital work for the most vulnerable and our children – are paid a pittance.”

High food insecurity has been flagged to increase the risk of diabetes. On the other hand, previous research shows that decreased food insecurity in older adults could potentially decrease the rate of cognitive decline.

Government and retailers called to collective action
The Food Foundation calls on the UK government to ensure nobody in the country has to suffer food insecurity by setting minimum wage and benefit levels at values that consider what is required for families to afford a healthy diet. 

“To ensure everyone has enough income to afford the food they need to feed themselves and their families, the government needs to reassess the way that benefits and minimum wage levels are set and calculate them based on how much it costs to afford a healthy diet as well as the other essentials people need to live,” suggests Goudi. 

“We are also calling on retailers to take action on food prices to help ensure that healthy foods are affordable.” 

The Food Foundation and trade unions call for government action to tackle the growing cost of living.For example, she advises that retailers ensure a range of fruit and vegetables are available at discounted prices, while putting offers on staple foods that people need rather than unhealthy food.

Paddy Lillis, general secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw), adds: “We need government action to tackle rising bills, along with a new deal for workers to end low-paid and insecure employment and a social security system that gives people a proper safety net.”

Tighter budgets constrict healthy eating
Goudi warns that when money is tight, people are more likely to switch to foods that are cheap and filling but can damage their long-term health, as “healthier foods are three times more expensive per calorie than less healthy foods.”

“Our new findings show that many food insecure households are cutting down on buying fruit and veg, essential parts of a nutritious diet and preventing poor health. This has implications not just for the quality of life of individuals but also the potential long-term impact on our overburdened healthcare system.”

Goudi explains: “The Food Foundation’s Basic Basket Tracker has been tracking the cost of a weekly basket of food, which has increased 20-25% in the past year. This substantial increase impacts the food that people on low incomes can afford to buy.” 

In the US, the American College of Physicians has called on policymakers to address food and nutrition insecurity to improve public health, as many citizens have poor access to nutritious food. 

By Jolanda van Hal