Laura Jarman, Bankueteer

Did I lock the back door?

Did I cancel that direct debit?

Hang on, have I been ghosted…?

Those little worries that creep into your consciousness while you’re trying your best to drift off to sleep on a Tuesday night.

But how many of us worry about where our next meal will be coming from?

Food insecurity is most commonly defined as existing “whenever the availability…or the ability to acquire acceptable foods…is limited or uncertain.” Anderson, 1990

It accounts for a range of experiences, from the extreme of going without food right through to feeling insecure about where you might get your next meal.

Having a choice on what to eat for dinner, being able to afford the ingredients to make it, and not worrying about how or what you’re going to eat tomorrow, may be something many of us simply accept as normal life. But the latest research shows that this isn’t the reality facing everyone in the UK - 1.5 million people go without food every day and food insecurity is thought to affect 10% of national households.

And it’s doesn’t just lead to hunger…

State of mind

Lacking food affects people’s mental health, their wellbeing and self-esteem. It’s been proven to cause a significantly higher risk of anxiety, depression and chronic stress. And these markers of poor mental health are especially high among women, who are more likely to live in poverty (and therefore disproportionately impacted by food insecurity).

While parents in food insecure households may often go without food to make sure their children don’t have to, the stress associated with food insecurity is thought to cause a knock-on impact on their children’s mental health too.

Campaigning footballer Marcus Rashford put it succinctly when he made headlines last year, stating “hungry children are sitting in class worrying about what their younger siblings will eat at home later.”

Food for thought

Here at Bankuet we dream of a world where no-one goes hungry. And this vision spurs us on to get food banks what they need, when they need it.

Food bank usage is a symptom of severe food insecurity. And while we know keeping food banks stocked isn’t a long term solution for the underlying causes of this issue, we recognise the key role food banks play in helping to address the daily worries of many UK households.

As well as providing food and crucial supplies, they regularly signpost people to other organisations and services, like Citizens Advice or Shelter, helping to address far more than hunger alone. This has become increasingly important over the last year, as the pandemic has exacerbated the challenges, and therefore poor mental health, faced by many low-income households.

“You feel very hopeless. Yes. You feel a failure in some ways, I suppose. It’s a hell of a morale boost, even if you’re just getting tins of soup and pasta, it’s a hell of a morale booster having a full belly.”

(Trussell Trust, State of Hunger Report - Qualitative respondent, Male)

Care at a click

No-one should have to worry where their next meal is coming from. Help give someone peace of mind this Mental Heath Awareness month by donating to food banks via Bankuet.

By working directly with food aid providers around the UK to turn your online donations into the exact items they need, we make it simple, quick and impactful to support those in crisis. Orders are only placed when a food bank requests them, so there’s no food waste. And we pool your donations together so that we can buy more for less from the suppliers we work with.

Simply head to bankuet.co.uk/givenow, select your bundle and either opt for a specific food bank or let Bankuet identify which food bank(s) need help most that month.

Give Food. Give Peace Of Mind.

Want to make a difference? Bankuet helps get food banks what they need, when they need it so that they can keep fighting food insecurity.