Membership-based food clubs offering heavily discounted groceries and wraparound support are a vital tool in tackling food insecurity, according to the UK’s first large-scale independent study. The University of Sheffield report reveals that over one in five low-income families lack consistent access to nutritious food.
Dr. Megan Blake, lead author of the report commissioned by Comic Relief and Sainsbury’s to better understand the role of food clubs in UK food security, calls on the Government to treat food clubs as essential public health infrastructure and sets out a raft of measures to tackle national food insecurity.
Food clubs offer a sustainable, membership-based alternative to food banks, providing affordable and healthy groceries without the need for a referral. They allow households to stretch tight budgets while helping to signpost and connect people to additional support services, including benefits and debt advice, health services and employment and training services.
The study found that the UK’s food insecurity crisis is a systemic problem, driven by financial precarity and an unequal food environment. It revealed the strongest predictor of food insecurity is an inability to pay unexpected costs – households who can’t afford a sudden £100 expense are six times more likely to experience food insecurity. This is more significant than income level.
Previous research from lead author of the new study Dr Megan Blake found that in one out of every six local authorities, rates of hunger are more than 150 per cent (one and a half times) the national average.
Dr Blake, from the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food, said: “Food insecurity is not an isolated problem of individual failure in the UK, which affects only those in crisis. It’s a systemic problem across the UK driven by deep financial precarity and by a lack of access to fresh, nutritious food.
“While its prevalence is recognised in urban areas, food insecurity is acute in rural areas. Ironically, these are the regions that grow the food we eat and are central to the UK’s food production. Over 10% of people live without walkable access to healthy food, whereas this rate rises above 50% in rural areas.”
Alongside geography, other factors can impact someone’s access to fresh produce, such as insecure housing. The report found that those who rent privately, or from a local authority, are almost twice as likely to experience food insecurity compared to people who own their own homes.
Food clubs play a vital role in enhancing food security, diet and wellbeing, and can work in tandem with emergency support – like food banks or cash first approaches – to lift people out of food insecurity and into longer term resilience.
The study identifies profiles of users of food banks and food clubs based on a household’s specific vulnerabilities. Food bank-only users are often those in the most acute crisis, typically characterised by a lack of financial buffers and social support; they are more likely to be younger, male, single and out of work. In contrast, food club members often use the service as a strategic tool to manage chronic ‘income-expenditure squeezes’ from a position of relative stability, with these users more likely to be women, living with a partner, or homeowners. A third group, ‘dual users’ who access both services, face the highest pressure of all- struggling with the compounded burden of in-work poverty and significant caring responsibilities.
The research also highlights the powerful reparative and preventative effects of the food club model. While many households join at a point of acute crisis – with new members being three times more likely to face severe food insecurity – this hardship significantly diminishes over time. For those who remain members for over a year, the data shows a steady progression toward stability, with long-term members reporting dramatically higher levels of food security and a reduced reliance on emergency aid. Far from being a short-term fix, the clubs act as a rung on the ladder to recovery, helping families shore up their budgets and move permanently away from the brink of crisis.
Paula Ankers – who went from being deputy manager of a nursery to struggling to put food on the table after her roofer husband suffered a brutal, life-altering attack – says food club The Bread and Butter Thing has been “absolutely life-changing”.
Sixty-year-old Paula, from Manchester, has found not only a lifeline but a real sense of community through the Barton Hub food club, which has received funding from Comic Relief and Sainsbury’s.
“I’d gone from having a normal life to not being able to buy a birthday present for my granddaughter,” said Paula.
“By the first Christmas after the attack, we were on our knees. I remember we had a loaf of bread and a packet of chicken crisps for Christmas dinner. I did try food banks, which are brilliant things, but I just felt ashamed, and I never went back.”
A friend of Paula’s recommended trying The Bread and Butter Thing food club, and she’s not looked back since.
“I go once a week and get bags of fresh food, all for the £8.50 weekly membership fee. Because you’re contributing something, even just a small amount, it doesn’t feel like charity. I don’t feel ashamed.
“And the people there, mostly volunteers, are just lovely, generous people who go out of their way to help. There’s a real sense of community – a support network. It really has changed our lives. The more people that know about food clubs, the better.”
Dr Blake believes the government can champion food clubs as a highly effective, preventative solution that moves beyond a purely emergency response for those who find themselves experiencing food insecurity.
“Members of food clubs not only reported eating a high-quality diet with an increased amount and variety of fruits and vegetables than those who use food banks alone, they also consistently report significantly higher wellbeing scores and have a more positive outlook overall. Yet only a fifth of respondents (21.8 per cent) to our research actually knew what a food club was,” said Dr Blake.
“Whilst food banks are an important short-term intervention in a moment of crisis to avert immediate hunger, they are often accessed by referral only and can sometimes provide limited options. The findings of our report suggest that the value of food clubs is that the long-term holistic support and stability they offer can be less-stigmatising and provide a genuine pathway from food insecurity to resilience for a larger proportion of households.
“This makes them a great model for the government to champion and take action to reduce the number of people falling into acute crises through food insecurity.”
