Models and measurements of food insecurity

The issue of food insecurity, when people do not have sufficient food to eat, has been brought to the fore of public and policy debate as it underlies the rapid growth in use of charitable food provisioning and has been identified as a public health emergency. Public health emergencies not only threaten health but challenge food security through disrupted household incomes and access to food. Fortunately, since 2019, food insecurity is now measured in an agreed way (using the Household Food Security Severity Module 10-item measure) across all four nations of the UK with first data available since 2021. Research has identified how food insecurity exhibits spatial variation depending on area deprivation, neighbourhood walkability, property values, foodscapes and settlement type. The multi-faceted nature of food insecurity requires integration of data to identify those living in areas of increased risk across regional scales.

Ulster University’s uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to create a multi-variable, area-based At Risk of Food Insecurity Index, mapped at regional scale. This Index aligns 2021 census and other government-endorsed data and affordability and availability healthy food basket data (2022) for a minimum essential but nutritionally adequate diet to identify a risk profile for areas in Northern Ireland where food is less available, less accessible and more unaffordable. The Index encompasses multiple structural indicators of food poverty beyond food costs and availability as it integrates a range of variables such as income, deprivation, ownership, retailer density, education and health to develop an aggregated overall risk score. By combining accessibility measures with socio-economic variables in a GIS it is possible to create a high-resolution database that identifies the risk of food poverty.

The food insecurity risk score for each small area will be used to identify area-based vulnerabilities and solutions to food insecurity. The data and evidence will inform local authorities’ work in partnership to collectively address the root causes of food insecurity. Additionally, the Index allows for associations between food insecurity and health outcomes to be investigated across Northern Ireland.