By David Watts
Defining and measuring the problem
The United Nations defines food security as existing ‘when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’. Central to this definition is access to food. For, if we cannot get access to enough food, we become undernourished. Rates of undernourishment, also called severe food insecurity, are low in Europe. However, less severe forms, which the United Nations calls moderate and mild food insecurity, are more common.
The UK Government collects data on household level food security. However, instead of mild and moderate food insecurity, it uses the US Department of Agriculture’s terms low and very low food security to designate households which, though their members may not be undernourished, struggle to feed themselves.
In Scotland, about 11% of households experienced low food security (reporting reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet) or very low food security (reporting multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake) in 2022-23. This means that, as my colleagues and I estimate in Scottish Affairs, about 280,000 Scottish households struggled to feed themselves in 2022-23. We also report that the proportion of Scottish households experiencing low or very low food security has risen by almost 40% since 2020-21.
The Scottish Government’s response
The Scottish Government’s response to food insecurity is underpinned by the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022. Section 2d of this Act obliges Scottish ministers to prepare a Good Food Nation Plan, guided by ‘the fact that adequate food is a human right (as part of the right to an adequate standard of living set out in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and essential to the realisation of other human rights’. However, matters of social security are reserved to the UK Government, so the Scottish Government has no or very limited powers to change key benefits.
In June 2023, the Scottish Government introduced Cash-First, setting out how it intends to reduce food insecurity. Cash-First aims to make food banks the ‘last port of call in a crisis’ by improving people’s access to emergency financial assistance, money advice and holistic support services. This seeks to address the main cause of food insecurity: insufficient income.
Food banks and other food support
The challenge facing the Scottish Government, as it seeks to reduce food insecurity, is illustrated not only by the statistics cited above but also by the scale of community and charitable support provided to Scotland’s most disadvantaged citizens. We identified 638 food support organisations (including food banks) operating through 1,008 outlets in Scotland. The number of outlets is very similar to the 1,026 operating in 2019/20. Given that low and very low household food security have increased since 2020, this suggests that food support outlets are facing increasing demand for food and other support.
We found that food support outlets tend to be concentrated in areas with higher levels of overall deprivation. They are least concentrated in areas with higher levels of access deprivation, such as remote rural areas, which have the longest journey times to key services. Instead, food support outlets tend to concentrate in remote small towns.
We also found that most food support organisations provide more than emergency food relief (which is why we call them food support organisations rather than food banks). This is important, because our research with people who have experienced food insecurity indicates that access to emergency food assistance is often insufficient to enable them to become and remain food secure. In addition to financial support, access to advice and informal contact with others, plus help with budgeting, shopping and food preparation skills, were often considered important by people seeking to become and remain food secure.
Implications for policy
Our research prompts three reflections that are relevant to policy makers. First, food support outlets, being present throughout much of Scotland, are relatively well located to provide holistic support services to people in need. Secondly, many (and possibly most) food support organisations provide welfare support beyond emergency food. Indeed, our current research suggests that some are working with Citizens Advice Scotland to widen access to, for example, debt management advice.
Lastly, our findings suggest that it would probably be unwise to measure the success of policies such as Cash-First in terms of a reduction in the number of food banks operating in Scotland. This may seem counterintuitive, as Cash-First seeks to make food banks ‘the last port of call in a crisis’. However, food banks have been developing the provision of wider support services that seek to do more than provide emergency assistance. Therefore, Scotland’s food banks may be transitioning into food support organisations which, rather than being displaced, could play an important role in helping to deliver the aims of Cash-First.
Featured image credit: Nico Smit, Unsplash
Read the full article, ‘The Distribution and Functions of Food Support Organisations in Scotland and their Implications for Policy’ in Scottish Affairs
About the Journal
Scottish Affairs is Scotland’s longest running journal on contemporary political and social issues and is widely considered the leading forum for debate on Scottish current affairs. Articles provide thorough analysis and debate of Scottish politics, policy and society, and are essential reading for those who are interested in the development of Scotland.
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About the Author
David Watts is a social scientist and historian based in the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen. He leads Scottish Government-funded research into building food security in Scotland.
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