Food poverty impacts mental health

Food insecurity should be classed as a public health emergency, a new report has concluded, because of the “considerable” physical and psychological impact it has on health.

In-depth research into the issue found that for those suffering from the problem “going days without eating was a strikingly common experience”.

The Menu for Change group – which brings together campaigners from the Poverty Alliance, the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Oxfam Scotland and Nourish – carried out what it said was the first research of its kind, taking a “longer and more holistic view of people’s circumstances to better understand

“Days without eating was a common experience”

the contexts in which severe food insecurity has emerged”.

Three-quarters of those who took part in the study suffered from some form of mental illhealth – with their lack of cash for food resulting in it being “not uncommon” for people to feel suicidal.

The report said: “Three-quarters of participants reported some form of mental ill-health, a finding that underscores the need to consider food insecurity as a public health emergency.”

Food insecurity can range from worrying about running out of money for food, which is seen a mild form of the problem, through to skipping meals or cutting back on food, to more severe cases where people can go for days without eating.

The “precarious nature” of zerohours contracts and temporary jobs was a “key driver of food insecurity”, according to the research.