Food insecurity and eating distress are both rising across the UK, yet the relationship between them remains poorly understood. When access to adequate, nutritious food becomes uncertain, how does this impact people’s relationship with eating? And when someone is already experiencing eating distress, how does poverty and food insecurity compound their challenges?
In North-East England – a region disproportionately affected by food insecurity – we set out to explore these questions. This NortHFutures EPSRC-funded project started in February 2025 in collaboration with Newcastle University, Teesside University, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, Eating Distress North East, Newcastle University, Bay Foodbank, Middlesbrough Foodbank, and XR Therapeutics.
We have been gathering evidence from the people who know these issues best: individuals with lived experience, foodbank staff, and workers from voluntary organisations supporting people with eating distress. Through surveys and interviews, we listened to personal stories and collected data that revealed how deeply these two challenges intersect.
Frontline staff told us about the gaps in their knowledge and resources – they are encountering people experiencing both issues but lacking the training and tools to respond effectively and sensitively. People with lived experience shared how food poverty and eating distress intertwined in ways that existing services weren’t equipped to address.
This research demonstrates how food insecurity and eating distress are interconnected public health challenges requiring coordinated attention. Watch this space for our upcoming publications, and our practical, freely accessible guidance for voluntary sector organisations. In the meantime, we always share our ongoing research via Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/h6snc/
We have identified critical needs for future research and service development – this is an ongoing area of research within our group. If you are interested in research at the intersection of food insecurity and eating distress/disorders, we would love to hear from you!