Content uploaded by Jennifer Geraghty
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Jennifer Geraghty on May 17, 2021
Content may be subject to copyright.
1
How Has Child Food Insecurity Been Impacted During the Covid-19
Pandemic (Birmingham UK).
Authors: Barbara Hagger, Jennifer Geraghty and Gazala Aslam (corresponding author at
Gazala@Equanimity.org.uk) Birmingham, West Midlands, UK.
Executive Summary
What we did:
In this report we discuss findings relating to food insecurity on children and their families
and how this situation has been affected by Covid-19. The information was gathered from
parents, guardians, and carers in and around Birmingham UK, in the Spring of 2021.
How we did it:
Ten semi-structured interviews were carried out via the telephone. Participants were
recruited through professional links and through poster circulation. Posters were distributed
to libraries, food banks, youth centres, school newsletters, and on social media. Places of
worship were also contacted and asked to mention our study during their announcements.
The most successful methods for recruiting were via social media, school newsletters and
word of mouth.
What we found:
The pandemic has changed the lives of many people in the UK. Many have experienced
problems with their personal finances, changing their lives in ways they could not possibly
have imagined. Ten participants gave their time to share with us the impact that Covid-19
restrictions have had on their family life. Difficulties that have impacted upon their mental
health and wellbeing and upon their children, causing parents to worry about their children’s
future. Concerns over the loss of employment and the effect that had on paying bills, finding
money for shopping to feed their family and the need to ask for support. In Section 1, our
participants explain in their own words the impact those changes in their employment status
have had upon them: the subsequent loss of income, reliance upon Universal Credit, loss of
carers allowance, loss of sickness benefits and how being at home has increased their utility
and food bills. In Section 2, our participants discussed how their changed financial situations
impacted upon their ability to get food and essential personal items for their families. Made
worse by loss of, or reliance upon, benefits to the point where they were unable to buy
essential items for their children. In Section 3, participants expressed their need for
information and turning towards food banks and charitable organisations; help which was
seen as a ‘Godsend’ to families.
Covid-19 has increased food insecurity and made difficult financial situations worse for many
families. The need for more research and policy making in these areas is now urgent.
2
Background
Equanimity Education CIC (Appendix A) was commissioned, by the University of Birmingham,
in collaboration with the USE-IT project and co-funded by the European Regional and
Developmental Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative, to look at food
poverty/insecurity on children and their families given the huge impact of Covid-19.
In this report we discuss the findings relating to food insecurity and how this situation has
been affected by Covid-19. The information was gathered from parents, guardians, and
carers in and around Birmingham UK, in the Spring of 2021.
We were also asked to look at the education support families needed, as home schooling
took over from classroom teaching, during three lockdowns – the Government’s attempts to
control the spread of infection along with vaccinations. The findings regarding education
support will be made available in a separate report.
In our first report on childhood food insecurity, carried out in Autumn 2019, we shared
concerns from parents who were struggling to feed their families, (Childhood Food
Insecurity, 2020 - ResearchGate). Concern about food security has been an issue for a while:
despite many voices calling for support for families (Craig and Dowler, 1997, Ridge, 2011 &
2013, Livingstone, 2015).
Historically, the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, was, according to Pulham and Beaven
(2012), brought in ‘to enforce stricter rules for obtaining relief under an elected Board of
Guardians.’ There is something vaguely familiar in this situation, with the rise of Universal
Credit as the gold standard of Government support, and cuts in benefits. Those in need are
left to wait, often weeks, before benefits begin; leaving families impoverished, feeling
ashamed about asking for help from others, and worried about the stigma attached to using
foodbanks, charitable organisations and aid provided by schools. In many cases someone in
the family finds the strength to overcome their discomfort and despair and seeks help; yet
through all this pressure they retain their dignity.
In 1844, to raise money for the Birmingham Polytechnic Institution, Charles Dickens
addressed his concerns about the misunderstandings put upon those who were destitute,
for whatever reason. Those misunderstandings, usually spread by those more fortunate,
needed to be corrected with ‘liberal education’, their rhetoric replaced with the reality of the
situation. ‘A Christmas Carol’, written in 1843 by Dickens, reflected his desire to use liberal
education to highlight social inequities, the book was described by Andrews (2012) as:
"A fable to highlight the callous indifference of the rich towards what should be their
social responsibilities - the idea that we are all one family and should care for others."
Something that is still, very much, a work in progress.
3
In 2021, the Government is still reluctant to formulate policies on poverty and is yet again
threatening to cut benefits that families have found to be a lifeline. In response to this Kate
Green (2021) told the BBC that:
“Over the last decade the Conservatives have overseen record numbers of children
pushed into poverty, a worsening mental health crisis and an 18-month gap in learning
between disadvantaged children and their peers at GCSE.”
Recently, Sean Coughan (2021) reported for the BBC News that the Department for
Education (DoE) was changing the date when the numbers of children who are, considered
to be, disadvantaged, for whom schools receive a ‘Pupil Premium’ (currently £1,345 for each
primary school pupil and £955 for each secondary school pupil), will be changed from
November to January. This, he said, will have a major impact on funding. Schools will
potentially lose millions in funding, instead of receiving an increase to cover free school
meals. Families affected by Covid-19, with home schooling, reduced or lost incomes, who
would be entitled to free school meals may well lose out if they become eligible after
November 2020. The DoE is reported to have said that ‘an earlier date would help with
budgeting’, but the only budgets that would benefit are the Treasury, not those who
desperately need it.
In research carried out in 2014, Jones, Lowe and West (2020) raised serious concerns about
the impact of financial cuts and reduced funding to organisations that supported the most
vulnerable adults and children in society. This is still occurring, despite many calls for
support and the sterling efforts of Marcus Rashford, supported by supermarkets; but do the
supermarkets ensure their staff are not experiencing food poverty? The impact of food
poverty and reduced educational chances, have combined to place children at a
disadvantage (Graham, Stretesky & Long et. al., 2018, Lambie-Mumford & Simms, 2018 and
Holley, Mason and Haycraft, 2019, and Jones, Lowe & West, 2020).
As the current Covid-19 crisis has shown, severe cuts to services can have massive
unintended consequences. Food poverty and reduced access to education, which existed
pre-Covid-19, will have an even more profound impact upon children, unless serious efforts
are made to support children who are struggling with their studies and to stop them going
hungry, potentially a lot more families in future years will be at a distinct disadvantage.
Food poverty can happen to anyone, at any time, they do not necessarily have to be labelled
as vulnerable.
In Section 1, our participants explain in their own words the impact that changes in their
employment status have had upon them: the subsequent loss of income, reliance upon and
changes in benefits and how being at home has increased their utility and food bills. Later,
in Section 2, our participants discuss how their changed financial situations impacted upon
their ability to get food and essential personal items for their families. Section 3 looks at the
need for information and a rise in the use of food banks.
4
Methodology
Ten semi-structured interviews were carried out by telephone. Participation was voluntary
and it was made clear that participants could chose to answer all or some of the questions,
and they could withdraw from the project during the interview, or up a month afterwards.
The selection criterion for participating were:
a) they had accessed out-of-school services before and/or during the COVID-19
pandemic.
b) were a parent or guardian of a school-aged child.
c) aged 18 years or older.
d) from the Birmingham area.
Participants were recruited through professional links and through poster circulation
(Appendix B). Posters were distributed to libraries, food banks, youth centres, school
newsletters, and on social media. Places of worship were also contacted and asked to mention
our study during their announcements. The most successful methods for recruiting were via
social media, school newsletters and word of mouth.
Interviews were recorded with consent from participants and lasted approximately an hour.
Participants were sent an information sheet (Appendix C) prior to taking part and consent was
either given verbally or through returning a consent form (Appendix D). Each interview was
recorded, with the full consent of the participant(s).
Participants were asked about (Appendix E):
a) the impact of the pandemic on their family.
b) accessing food during the pandemic, and
c) accessing their child’s lessons and schoolwork during lockdown.
Those who took part were compensated for their time with a supermarket voucher of their
choice.
We anonymised the data by giving participants pseudonyms, their interviews were
transcribed and identifying information was removed (redacted). Information from this
report may be added to larger reports and shared with other members of the community and
other research teams: please acknowledge the source.
5
TABLE 1 - Descriptive statistics of participants.
TABLE 1. Descriptive Statistics for Food Poverty Participants 2021
Gender
Female = 10 Male = 0
Age Range
30 years to 44 years
Ethnicity
Experiences
African Caribbean
Child Care
Asian
Disability awareness
Black
Food Projects
British
Home Maker
Indian
Key Worker
Mixed/Multiple
Not currently working
Self-employed
Student
Volunteering
Data was placed into a grid to enable Framework Analysis for potential future studies.
Thematic Analysis (Aronson, J., 1994 and Braun & Clarke, 2006) was applied to the data
collected by Equanimity Education CIC. Three themes were identified which are discussed
below.
Results
Three main themes surrounding food insecurity were identified. These are (1) Benefits and
financial constraints; (2) Relying on others, shopping, and larger families (3) Food Schemes
and the lack of information.
1. Benefits and financial constraints
Changes in income have had a major impact on life in the UK in 2020/21. Ongoing pandemic
restrictions and regulations have led to families finding themselves in financial difficulties and
needing help from others they never expected to need. Sometimes it is just too difficult to
keep asking for help.
Chaman explained how her family’s life changed:
“In a year, all of those terrible things…before that, everything was fine. We’d finally got
money; we’d finally got the business up and running... We were finally really
making…enough so I didn’t have to work two jobs anymore…We’d bought a house
which was big enough so we could all live together and because…we lost
the…house…we’re stuck in our three-bedroom terrace instead.”
6
Lockdown led to businesses closing, loss of livelihoods and the need to seek financial support:
financial support was given in the form of Universal Credit and furlough payments, as well as
other benefits. Some parents had carer payments for severely disabled children removed and
for others their sickness payments stopped, compounding their loss, and increasing their
stress. Karen, Chaman, Fiona and Hadiya shared their experiences of this difficult time. This is
what they told us:
“This year hopefully we are going to qualify for that [free school meals] so that will be
good. My husband [has been supporting me, as I have been unwell]. We got furlough
for one job; they don’t give you anything for the other job.” Karen
“I applied for Universal Credit as I lost [work] income and then the Government
brought in those furlough payments…that kept us going. However, now with me being
off work my sick pay has ended…and now we’re getting…Universal Credit and my
family allowance and that’s it. So, from working two jobs with decent wages…we’ve
got more going out than we’ve got coming [in]…Every month I get further and further
into debt and that’s just the way it is now…You’ve got your bill money and you’ve got
your shopping money. Your kids don’t have dinner money; so, they’ve gone back with
no dinner money.” Chaman
“Our income changed as well; we were classed as self-employed…but because we
weren’t working, we were no longer eligible for working tax credits. So, we had to go
onto Universal Credit. Which was a whole new ball game in itself… Because of the bills
and everything, and it was like five weeks before Universal Credit came
through…Because it was five weeks, I researched any places on-line just to see if there
was any help out there.” Fiona
“I’ve got quite a few friends who’ve…been furloughed and then they go back for a week
and they’re furloughed again…and that kept happening… [Someone I know] didn’t
know any of the support that was available. I think people who are already on
benefits…will know…about these things but for the people who work, that could end up
in a testing financial time. They don’t know the information because they’ve never
needed it and they don’t know where to turn. I think there’s very little support for
working people with a job who [need] help. And a lot of the help is for people with
children that are under the age of four...Once they get past 5, there’s very little
support”. Chaman
“[I] lost my carers allowance, which was quite a big chunk of money coming in and it
stopped when Covid fell…that pandemic really stung me. It humbled me a bit as well
actually and was very stressful. I’ve never been so hard up. Obviously, the kids are at
home, heating and electricity are more, yeah that was the biggest outcome losing that
income…Now nappies are not expensive are they...In Aldi’s you can get like 60 nappies
for like four pounds, but because my income was so reduced, I couldn’t afford a packet
of nappies…I’ve been alright, but the pandemic hit, and you can’t even afford nappies
for your children.” Hadiya
7
Being at home meant providing more food for the children. Finances were stretched as utility
and food bills went up and accepting help created a mixture of emotions.
“We have struggled…It was hard financially obviously, because everything went up, my
bills went up, because the kids were at home, so my electric was going up, because it
was quite cold as well, we had the heating on more. Whereas when they are at
school… I’m either at work or out and about so we don’t need the heating on. The food
bill went up. I mean the food bill tripled…they’re eating more. Some of it was
boredom. It’s starting to calm down a bit now they are back at school. When they are
at school, they have already had their dinner…so it’s just tea then and a few snacks and
then it’s bed.” Jawaria
“The thing is everything’s so expensive now… we got an email from the school to say
that you know if you are struggling, or if you think you will, or if you need whatever and
then just email… both the boys go to the same…school, and then once I put their name
down, then from then they would just offer that every time there was a lockdown,
every time there was a half term. It was, really, useful as well.” Brenda
“Just everything adds up…everything’s gone up you know it’s just so expensive…I think
some financial support would have been good…When things have gone wrong in the
house neighbours have helped to repair them.” Karen
“I’ve learnt how to budget better…I’ve learned how to access services I wouldn’t have
accessed before. Beforehand I probably would never have set foot in [them] because of
like the stigma attached to them.” Fiona.
But some people have reached their limits. They feel they cannot reach out or ask for any
more support.
“My [relative is] too proud…she wouldn't accept anything from me...She's on benefits
as well, so she wasn't able to get anymore help.” Amira
“I’ve already borrowed that much money from everybody that I’ve got no way of
paying back and I don’t feel like I’m able to ask for anymore.” Chaman
2. Shopping, larger families and relying on others.
Having little money left for food, many families juggled their day or sought support from
others. The lockdown restrictions caused unanticipated problems for those with larger
families, affecting shopping. For some a lack of funds meant families had to sometimes go
without. Those, who found they needed help, were touched by the kindness of strangers and
distant friends.
“A lot of our earnings was actually going just towards supermarket bills”.…”If you go to
the shops…people were bulk buying, not finding stuff, just basic provisions…or
8
something to care for yourself. I found that quite unsettling in the beginning…We're
very lucky [we] were [able to access food]. I know, a lot of people who…were struggling
and it's hard.” Brenda
Jawaria explained what happened with her family:
“With having a big family…stuff like shopping…they were saying…only go out when you
need to’, ‘limit the amount of times you go shopping’. But then you go into the
supermarket and be limited to what you can buy… once I went and got four tins of
tomatoes and you could only have two. Well two tins of tomatoes aren’t going to feed
a family of eight. I get that they were trying to limit it…but families like us were
caught. I don’t think they thought about big families.
When asked what would have helped her Jawaria said:
“The supermarkets, understanding we were a big family would have been easier…I
know like there’s food banks about, but we just managed…It weren’t just like the limit,
it was that you could only shop one person so me and my partner couldn’t go…and get
double stuff because we weren’t allowed to. So, we did have to cut right back on stuff
that we normally would buy.”
Gail and Fiona also found shopping more difficult.
“Oh my God, that was really bad…we had literally travelled all the shops…so that was a
reason as well like [for having] deliveries from the…Wellbeing Society. They were able
to provide yeah, toilet rolls and spaghetti, we got toilet rolls from them and like even
tinned tomatoes. And then it was always difficult to go out…who’s going to go out, and
you’re only allowed to go once, it was a nightmare… and then no pasta, nothing…We
used to go to two, three shops to be able to get the things and then everybody’s got
there already and there’s nothing left for us to buy. You know exactly how it was during
lockdown, we went to the shops and literally everything’s gone.” Gail
“I avoided big supermarkets…a bit too crowded even with one-way systems in place. I
was finding smaller places were better to shop. With that I managed to keep up all the
payments that we had…[And] I use some of the things I learnt [at work and passed this
information to others] during lockdown… [like going] to the Junk Food Café to try and
get their money to go further…[and using the] Clothing Bank.” Fiona
Families like Jawaria’s, Gail’s and Fiona’s were unable to buy food because it was not available
or they had a restricted budget, shopping then became a challenge and pushed them towards
going without, cutting down and using food banks.
Amira found that members of her extended family needed support:
“There was a couple of days [when my relative hadn't] eaten because…I haven't got
money to go shopping and was struggling to get [her] the things that she needed.”
Jawaria said she is “quite a proud person so we just got on with it… we went without to make
sure the kids had what they needed.”
9
Fiona said she “made sure that was like the first thing, they were both okay and fed, you know,
they were fed, and it was like nutritious as well.”
And Chaman said:
“Since I’ve been poorly…[the children have] had to learn to cook for starters. They’ve
eaten a lot of…things on toast… Food’s definitely been a lot more scarce…so they’ve
only had one meal a day…I’ve deliberately eaten at 4 o’clock because they’ve had
cereal in the morning and then at 4 o’clock that’s your main meal…that’s what we’ve
been doing for the last month.”
Reliance upon family, friends and strangers became necessary for some, especially if they
were ill or isolating. Chaman, Diane, Erina, Amira, Fiona and Hadiya told us:
“Before lockdown we were perfectly fine. We just shopped. They [her children] could
pick whatever they wanted, they all had dinner money for school. Life was normal. And
then at the beginning of the pandemic when, unlike everybody else who hoarded all the
food, there was nothing in the shops that you could go and buy that could put a meal
together because you couldn’t get any of the staple things and we were one of those
left without toilet rolls; but luckily we told the neighbours and they all gave us a roll
each…we’re in quite a rough area but good people here.” Chaman
“I have a friend…when I was sick, she called me she said, ‘If you need help, if you need
shopping, I will drop it off in front of your door’. My brother as well, he said ‘If you need
something…even if I’m not coming in, I drop it for you’”. Diane
“When we… [had] Covid obviously we couldn't go out to shop for necessary
items…we…had to isolate for a very long period of time…[A] family who live in our
building, they were very kind. I would just text and ‘this is what I need’ and they would
leave it at my doorstep and then I would pay them over a bank transfer…that was very
helpful for us.” Erina
[When we had Covid, I] “Had to rely on family to bring shopping as [I] couldn’t even
access an online shopping slot in first lockdown…I had to order takeaways but [I]
couldn’t do that for the whole 2 weeks.” Amira
“I think lots of services are getting closer, in how they work together…more places have
tried to do things for a lot of people.” And “Knowing when things get tough who is
actually there for you and who isn’t there.” Realising this was a shock to Fiona.
Always reach out, don’t like suffer in silence. There’s always help out there. Hadiya
10
3. Food Schemes
With workplaces closing and employees being furloughed many parents struggled to pay their
bills and feed their families. They did not know where they could obtain food and help from.
Others took to the internet to seek support, as their usual source of information ‘the school
gate’ was not available; without this resource many have been left to find out where help is by
other means. Schools were a major source of support for many families during lockdown, but
things were not always perfect.
“We’ve had help from the school...there were always offers if you need anything we can
get in touch…they gave us vouchers as well…I thought there’s no harm in it and that was
really helpful…I think they're doing really well…offering services like you know like a
laptop…or food…even if it's just a general help with the family. I think it is a benefit…for
the whole family.” Brenda
“The school…asked if you want something...but then we already had some of the
things…We were okay but we were stretching ourselves, you know what I mean, like
stretching our budget, all the time…Yeah school were supportive in the sense that like
they said they’ve got the food then you can come and have it, but then we didn’t…we
thought it’s okay…we try to do it and whatever we can by ourselves.” Gail
“Family and friends helped me out…[I] would not have reached out to other services…The
school, the nursery and the neighbours provided everything we needed to get through
that pandemic…The nursery were the ones that brought me the nappies…They like
rescued me. That nursery has always been a Godsend to our family.” Hadiya
As, Brenda, Gail, and Hadiya explained, they like many other parents relied on school or
nursery support to get through lockdown, the help was really appreciated.
Not everything went smoothly. Karen told us about the difficulties she encountered when she
asked for help with school meals.
“The schools were actually doing a meal, but then they were saying ‘Oh, you’re not ‘Pupil
Premium’ so you don’t qualify’, so that was a bit of a let-down. [They could help] only if
your child has autism or some sort of special educational needs…The school was open
every day and…they had the facilities, they had the canteen and things, I think they could
have done more in a way. I know they do have pressure on them, but I think
well…where’s that funding gone? You have the money so you could have provided those
hot meals for the children that needed it.”
Jawaria, Fiona and Amira talked about food banks and the need for information.
“Usually, you hear stuff like that at school or at your local shop and think ‘Ooh I’ll look
into that’, or one of the mothers’ would say something and because we haven’t really
had that you have to find the information yourself which is hard because you don’t
know where to start looking.” Jawaria
11
“It was quite hard really. You know when you don’t know the services available to you
and there’s loads of services that are available…A lot of these places aren’t advertised
as well, you know. It’s kind of word of mouth…this is at this place and that place.”
Fiona
“Only if you’re actively looking for them [local food banks] …At Christmas obviously the
Trussell Trust is quite a big thing that Tesco’s support. And personally, I’d donated to
those. So, you become aware of it - if you’re looking for it. Trussell Trust does get
advertised over the internet, but I think you have to actively seek it which is quite a
lot…If you can’t afford to shop in places like Tesco’s then…I guess you don’t hear of it. I
don’t ever recall Lidl or Aldi, kind of the lower sort of price range end of food and
things… actually advertising anything like that.” Amira
Many schemes do not have the funding to be able to advertise, so they rely on word of mouth
as Fiona found when she asked if there were any leaflets and was told ‘We haven’t got the
funding for it’.”
And Chaman told us how she had to rely on others to get through.
“We’ve had food parcels delivered, we’ve had to use the food bank probably three or
four times over the last few months…because there just isn’t enough.
We’ve…been…shopping when it’s late because you can go and get the stuff that’s half
price. We’re doing everything we can really…it’s the kids. I don’t make it round the
supermarket well enough. So, it’s just relying on people bringing us stuff.”.
In some areas the community centres have worked with other businesses to help provide food
to those who needed it during the pandemic. Diane and Fiona explained what this help meant
to their families.
Diane said:
“They offer sandwiches for the families to the community centre, and the community
centre they give sandwiches for the family…They say that once a week you are allowed
for a bank food from the community centre for each person.”
Diane also mentioned:
“Magic Box is, it’s like a charity… they send…a parcel…every two weeks, a bottle of
milk, vegetable, and a box of cereal for children. They are very helpful…It helps us
because during this time it’s very hard…a lot of people they’ve stopped from their
jobs…When they help, they make a happy face for people, for family, for my children.
When they saw what we got they were like ‘Oh my God they are really good people’,
they’re helping all family.”
Fiona said:
“Someone shared an item on-line about a place, and it was like a pantry. So, I sent
them a message…‘Do you take people who are working?’…They replied ‘it was open to
everyone’…I found out where the local [Junk Food Café] was and it became like a trip
for the kids. Every week we would take a walk down there. Leave the house, take an
hour walk there and then walk back…the kids called it ‘The Farmer’s Market’…The Junk
12
Food Café were a great help because it was ‘pay as you feel’. In there if you wanted to
put a fiver in one week you could, so if you weren’t rich the next week you could put
less in. That was a good help.”
She also found another service:
“The Junk Food Café, you get to pick like the bread, and the veg and whatever they had
there like random tins and random bits…with this one you could pick, you could help with
your meals that way.”
Community services are trying to do all they can to help, providing meals for families and even
delivering to homes. And families are helping others by sharing donated food with them.
“There was restaurants and stuff doing free school meals. You know for the holidays and
I thought that was brilliant. We used that actually as well a few times…there was a few
takeaways that were doing it in the summer holidays where you could, you had to take
your children with you, and they would provide a meal for you. You had options like
chicken and chips, and fish and chips, and pizza or chips like a little box, you know but it
was…really helpful because we wouldn’t have to worry about what, what we were going
to eat today, you know. So that was good, that was really good. I would suggest that
for the older, elderly people who were living alone you know like, a free meal. A free hot
meal for them…that would be brilliant.” Karen
“They were cooking food [for] emergency temporary accommodations like bed and
breakfast…[and] delivering food meals… My husband…said to them, look ‘I’ve got a car if
you need [me]’…he offered…to drop off food, and they were like ‘Oh we need you for
this’, because…he’s bilingual…A lot of people from different backgrounds access that
service…I think they do referrals, they do stuff like mental health and safeguarding.”
Brenda
“Some have been absolutely amazing – offering food collections, they do food parcels,
they deliver to people… It’s literally like one little email and then you get a message like
the next day or the day after. They’ve been keeping [people] going.” Fiona
Karen mentioned sharing food and items with others if they did not need it themselves.
“I would check up on my [elderly] neighbour as well…her son’s always at work, so I
would always drop food. Like the food I would get, and if it wasn’t suitable for me, I
think ‘Well, we’ve got enough’ and I would give that to my neighbours…Just make sure
everybody’s alright really.”
Parents talked to us about the emotions associated with accepting help, learning what was
available and how to access it, and finding out who could use the services.
“Some of it is stigma…the stigma like around like Food Banks. I always believed you had
to have a voucher to go to a Food Bank…and you had to be not working. I didn’t realise
that you could go there whether or not you work…The stigma, yeah it is hard.” Fiona
13
Gail shared her thoughts about food availability:
“Some of the things were short in the store itself…I did not found the chapatti atta
anywhere…there was bread, that’s something, but it’s not the same thing…more Halal
food [would be good].”
Parents talked about the current situation.
Amira felt that the “Government should make sure all school children have access to nutritious
food.”
And Hadiya suggested asking schools, nurseries, and social services for help, or ask someone
to do this for you.
“Communicate with Children’s school and nurseries and see if they can assist and if not
ring social services. They will always have a link to ensure your family is equipped. Ring
up social services and they will point you in the right direction…’cos you don’t know until
you ask’…If they are afraid or concerned about asking…then get a friend to ring up and
say…I’ve got a friend in this situation can you help?’…Social services will say whether
they can help or not.”
Gail felt that everyone should be able to access services:
“We believe in equality and diversity so we should just open it to all, rather than
just…divide it for poor or for rich…children are not classified as rich or poor or anything
so it should be for all the children rather than…just for if you have benefits then you can
have that.”
Many parents were reluctant to ask for help, feeling uncomfortable as Chaman told us:
“I knew where to go, I knew what to do. I just didn’t want to, to begin with.”
Finally, Karen explained that it was not always an easy decision to accept support.
“My husband was a bit reluctant and there was times when I sort of didn’t tell him… I
thought…I’ve always paid my taxes; I’ve always worked and why shouldn’t I. If people
are entitled to it then why shouldn’t I, why should I be ashamed of asking for it…Don’t
be ashamed, don’t be afraid you know [to access services]. Come forward there’s no
shame in this you know.”
Overall, we were told that people would like services that maintained anonymity and felt
accessible to people from all backgrounds to remove any stigma attached.
“If you had the offer of going to a food café, we probably would have accepted it, more
so than a food bank. Probably the name of it.” Jawaria
“If it was more friendly, you know like, when sometimes they classify most vulnerable
so I can’t classify because I know what vulnerable is and I can’t classify myself or my
children as vulnerable because we were okay…We got like a little bit different but then
if they had said anyone can come for the food it makes a big balance.” Gail
“…you’d think ‘Oh it’s a bit shameful to ask for this and to ask for that’... You know you
were afraid to ask for help if you needed it…if you’re on Facebook you don’t have to
14
actually speak to the person and you can just hide, you can do it by email or you can
type.” Karen
Research findings from this study
The pandemic has changed the lives of many people in the UK. Families have experienced
problems with their personal finances, changing their lives in ways they could not possibly
have imagined. Ten participants gave their time to share with us the impact that Covid-19
restrictions have had on their family life. Difficulties that have impacted upon their mental
health and wellbeing and upon their children, with fears for their children’s future. Concerns
over the loss of employment and the effect that had on paying bills, finding money for
shopping to feed their family and the need to ask for support. In Section 1, our participants
explained in their own words the impact those changes in their employment status have had
upon them: the subsequent loss of income, reliance upon Universal Credit, loss of carers
allowance, loss of sickness benefits and how being at home has increased their utility and
food bills. In Section 2 our participants discussed how their changed financial situations
impacted upon their ability to get food and essential personal items for their families. Made
worse by loss of, or reliance upon, benefits to the point where they were unable to buy
essential items for their children. In Section 3 participants expressed their need for
information and turning towards food banks and charitable organisations; help which was
seen as a ‘Godsend’ to families.
Recommendations:
• Covid-19 has increased food insecurity and made difficult financial situations worse for
many families. The need for research and policy making in these areas is now urgent.
• Historic and current concerns around food insecurity and income need to be
addressed head on. Not with tweaks to existing systems that are not suitable for the
needs of those who receive them.
• Support is needed for working people who need help, something better than Universal
Credit.
• Accessible information and support are also needed for older adults.
• Get information to families via social media, school newsletters and word of mouth.
They need to know what is available and how to access it, and how to use the services.
• Social Services need to let people know they can help them, and how to get in touch.
• Help parents with children of all ages.
• Consider parents with and without children with disabilities, those with children with
disabilities may well need extra resources and support.
15
• Consider the additional needs of larger families, as parents and guardians have
struggled during the pandemic.
• Rethink how to provide food to those in need in a way that reduces stigma and
maintains dignity.
Limitations and Relevant Issues
We have not provided ‘outcomes’ for this study but have presented our ‘research findings’ instead.
This is because we acknowledge the limitations which we outline below.
There may be a sample bias due to covid restrictions. Although posters were displayed in public
places, such as libraries and foodbanks, potential participants may not have had access to these
noticeboards because of social distancing measures and other restrictions. Most of our participants
had access to a device with some form of internet connection or knew of someone who had; those
without such access may not have heard about the study.
We understand the reduced parameters of this study. We have openly stated that ten female
participants took part and no male participants. This was, in part, due to the nature of the study and
the questions that we were asking which were clearly explained in our recruiting material. We
purposefully recruited ten participants given the time and funding available. In future studies, we
would aim to recruit male participants where possible. However, it is clear from our results that many
families were financially affected by the pandemic to some degree.
Carrying out telephone interviews allowed us to collect timely, rich, primary data, from consenting
adults about their current situation. Again, the limitations of this method are acknowledged,
specifically the lack of face-to-face interaction and loss of non-verbal information. Given Covid-19
restrictions this was the optimal way for us to speak to our participants. An alternative way would be
via Teams or Zoom, but these were avoided as many children were using internet connections for their
schoolwork.
We hope to do further research into food insecurity and the impact of this upon children’s education
as these are important issues. We are currently writing a report on the mental health impact of Covid-
19 and home schooling.
We are grateful for the support this study received as our participants were all from underrepresented
groups.
Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank all the parents and their families who kindly took the time to share their
experiences with us. We also thank the organisations that funded this study.
16
References
Andrews, M. (2012) Editor of the Dickensian, Journal of the Dickens Fellowship. Did Charles
Dickens really save poor children and clean up the slums? - BBC News. Cited in Davis, M.
BBC News Magazine. February 7th, 2012.
Aronson, J. (1994). A Pragmatic View of Thematic Analysis. The Qualitative Report 2(1).
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in
Psychology (3), 77-101.
Code of Ethics and Conduct (2009). Ethics Committee of the British Psychological Society.
Published by The British Psychological Society, St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East,
Leicester LE1 7DR. ISBN: 978-1-85433-495-4
Code of Ethics and Conduct (2018). Ethics Committee of the British Psychological Society.
Published by The British Psychological Society, St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East,
Leicester LE1 7DR. ISBN: 978-1-85433-759-7 Code of Ethics and Conduct (2018) | BPS
Coughan, S. (13th March 2021). BBC News Report. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Craig G., Dowler E. (1997) Let Them Eat Cake! Poverty, Hunger and the UK State. In: Riches G.
(eds) First World Hunger. Palgrave Macmillan, London
Dickens, C. (1844). Address in aid of the funds of the Birmingham Polytechnic
Institution. 28th February,1844. Charles Dickens speech to the Birmingham Polytechnic
Institution. (thecircumlocutionoffice.com)
Graham, P. L., Stretesky, P., Long, M. l, Mann, E. and Defeyter, M.A. (2018) Holiday Hunger:
Feeding Children During the School Holidays. In: Feeding Children Inside and Outside the
Home: Critical Perspectives. Taylor & Francis, pp. 87-106. ISBN 9781138633865
Green, K. (16th March 2021). BBC News: New Children’s Commissioner pledges to ‘rebuild
childhood’. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-5640843
Holley, C. E., Mason, C. and Haycraft, E. (2019). Opportunities and Challenges Arising from
Holiday Clubs Tackling Children’s Hunger in the UK: Pilot Club Leader Perspectives, Nutrients,
10.3390/nu11061237, 11, 6, (1237).
Jones, D., Lowe, P. and West, K. (2020). Austerity in a disadvantaged West Midlands
neighbourhood: Everyday experiences of families and family support professionals. Critical
Social Policy 40(3), 389-409. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018319840923
Lambie‐Mumford, H., and Sims, L. (2018). ‘Feeding Hungry Children’: The Growth of
Charitable Breakfast Clubs and Holiday Hunger Projects in the UK.
https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12272
Livingstone, N. ( 2015). The Hunger Games: Food poverty and politics in the UK. Capital &
Class, 39(2), 188-195 https://doi.org/10.1177/0309816815576737
Pulham, P. and Beaven, B. (2012). Dickens and the Victorian City. Portsmouth: Tricorn
Books. Poverty and the Poor | Dickens & the Victorian City (port.ac.uk)
17
Ridge, T. (2011). The Everyday Costs of Poverty in Childhood: A Review of Qualitative
Research Exploring the Lives and Experiences of Low‐Income Children in the UK. Children &
Society 32(3) Special Issue. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2010.00345.x
Ridge, T. (2013). ‘We are All in This Together’? The Hidden Costs of Poverty, Recession and
Austerity Policies on Britain's Poorest Children. Children and Society 27 (5) PP 406-417
https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12055
19
Appendix A
Equanimity Education CIC
Equanimity Education CIC was set up in 2015 as a response to the increasingly polarising
political and national narrative and accompanying governmental austerity measures which
were imposing further hardship on already struggling individuals, children, families, and
neighbourhoods.
The intention is to focus on addressing barriers to learning for children and young people so
that they can flourish in society. In essence a holistic approach to learning by nourishing
body, mind, and soul –Nourish to Flourish is our pervading principle.
The approach manifests itself through programmes which entail; fun learning and tuition
(mind), nourishing meals and snacks (body); and a mentoring component (soul).
The onus is on the programmes being run within communities and open to any child who
wants to attend, further encouraging cohesive communities, reading for pleasure and
independent thinking and learning. It is especially important that the food component of the
programme especially, is provided in a dignified way – so that a child never felt that this was
charity or because they were underprivileged, but it was just part and parcel of the activities.
We have a tiered pricing plan to accommodate all financial situations: we also provide
programmes for free when funding is available. Two free programmes have been run so far;
one in Acocks Green and one in the Summer of 2018 in Northfield which was funded by
Active Citizens - West Midlands Police.
On completion of the programme children can keep the reading books (usually a Roald Dahl
book), stationery and the grammar workbooks they were provided with on the programme.
We want the learning to continue.
Equanimity passionately believes that children must have their basic needs met before any
meaningful learning can be achieved – hence the integral provision of nourishing meals,
drinks and snacks and mentors rather than tutors.
We are currently focusing on the issue of food insecurity amongst children, and we are
pleased to have been commissioned by the University of Birmingham under the USE-IT!
project to undertake further research into this area in October/November 2019 and in the
Spring of 2021.
20
Appendix B
Research Recruitment Poster
21
Appendix C
Information Sheet
22
Appendix D
Consent Form
23
Appendix E
Equanimity Education CIC Topic Guide
How Has Child Food Insecurity Been Impacted During the Covid-19 Pandemic
1) Please tell me about your child(ren) –
Prompts: age, which year at school 2020/21, interests/ hobbies.
2) Which areas of life have changed during the lockdown/pandemic for your children?
Prompts: education/learning; access to food/ meals; mental wellbeing; family
relationships; socialising/friendships; finance/income; online access/digital exclusion.
3) How have these areas of life been impacted?
4) Tell me about the main negative impacts – if any, on your family during the pandemic.
5) Tell me about the main positive impacts – if any, on your family
6) Did you get any help from any organisations/individuals/groups/family members/non-
family members with the issues you mentioned?
YES:
(i) please tell me about who you received the help from in what way(s) they provided
the help.
(ii) how did you find out about the help on offer?
NO:
(i) please tell me why you think you were unable to access any help – did you face any
barriers?
Prompts: stigma/help only via online/ overwhelmed with situation/didn’t know about
it/communication issues/transport/childcare
(ii) what can organisations do to reach and help people more effectively in the future?
7) Did any of the issues you have had, exist before the pandemic?
a) if yes – which ones?
8) I want to talk to you about access to food specifically for your family – did you have any
problems with accessing food for your family before, during and after lockdown?
24
NO – do you know of anyone who has? If yes, tell me more if no go to Q13
YES – please tell me more about this
Prompts: level of food shortage/associated issues/coping strategies/use of food
banks/free school meals/community cafes/going hungry/after-school clubs/associated
health problems
9) Did your children struggle to eat regularly or go hungry before and during and after
lockdown?
10) What support do you need with this and who should be providing it and in what way?
11) In what ways do you think you will continue to have issues with access to regular
meals/food for your children in the next 6 months?
12) Are there any suggestions you have that would help increase access to food for your
children?
13) I want to talk about your child’s/children’s access to learning – did you have any problems
with accessing online schoolwork/activities/learning for your children before, during and after
lockdown?
NO – have you heard of the issues around digital exclusion?
YES – please tell me more about this
Prompts: free devices provided by schools/community/family of friends; total digital
exclusion/attended school as usual/ associated mental health problems
14) What were the issues that caused your children to struggle to have access to digital
devices/internet before, during and after lockdown?
Prompts: no/poor quality/sharing of devices/Wi-Fi: no quiet space
15) What support do you need with this and who should be providing it?
16) In what ways do you think you will continue to have issues with access to digital
devices/internet regularly for your children in the next 6 months?
17) Are there any suggestions you have that would help increase access to digital
devices/internet regularly for your children?
18) Is there anything else you would like to add think I have missed out?
