Food Insecurity Community Research

We have spent time with our community food banks as part of a North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council and SKYBLUE Research and Evaluation facilitating direct experience research into food insecurity. As a result, we have learned that effective community engagement is community-led. 

We put community voices at the centre of our research, working with 10 food provisions across York. By empowering local people to lead the conversations, we gained deeper, more meaningful insights. Together, we explored key themes such as dignity, stigma, reliance, choice, and self-sufficiency, hearing directly from those who run and rely on these vital services. While access to food is a core reason for attending, many participants also highlighted motivations such as reducing food waste, recycling, and supporting sustainability goals. A key insight from the research is that food provision offers far more than food alone. These spaces often serve as community hubs, fostering connection, building support networks, and, for some, providing a vital lifeline.

“I’ve made friends and they’ve helped me not feel lonely, so even if I didn’t need to go for food I would go for the company” Foodbank attendee