Food Action & Research Midlands Network
We bring together experts, front line food poverty workers and campaigners, and academic researchers to work on life-changing research.
We share current knowledge and understanding of knowledge gaps, to help future campaigns, research and action. Our network hosts a series of workshops about food security in the Midlands region.
Social stigma and food poverty
For a second time our paper “The do-gooders and scroungers': examining narratives of foodbank use in online local press coverage in the West Midlands, UK” was one the most highly cited articles published in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice 2020 - 2021 and has been included in their free collection of highly cited articlesLink opens in a new window. The collection will be free to access until 31 August.
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Families and Food in Hard Times, 5 December 2019
Dr Rebecca O'ConnellLink opens in a new window joined us to discuss the findings of the study Families and Food in Hard TimesLink opens in a new window. Dr O'Connell was the study's principal investigator from 2014-2019.
Food poverty workshop, 2 May 2019
The workshop investigated food poverty in the West Midlands. The Trussell Trust reported that this financial year, they distributed nearly 1.6 million food parcels, 19% more than the previous year.
The resulting report aims to contribute to our understanding of food poverty in the region. It asks questions such as:
- What is already going on in the West Midlands?
- What are the specific food security issues for the West Midlands?
- What policy needs to change?
- What action needs to change?
Minimum food equipment for food security
We investigated the minimum food storage and equipment needed to produce healthy family meals. We found that although the required equipment depends on the available cooking methods, there are some basic requirements and storage needs.
Lack of access to food cooking and storage facilities can push vulnerable households into food insecurity. Lack of storage, or insecure storage often occur in temporary housing situations, such as bed and breakfast accommodation. The obligation to buy more expensive ready-to-eat foods can strain household budgets to the point that they cut down on the amount or quality of food they eat.