Chapter 4: Ensure a healthy standard of living for all
The story of living with food insecurity told by Mary*
*Mary captures the lived reality of most women in a review that included 647 women's accounts of how food insecurity impacts on their health.
(Bell Z, Scott S, Visram S et al. (2022). Experiences and perceptions of nutritional health and wellbeing amongst food insecure women in Europe: A qualitative meta-ethnography. Social Science and Medicine. 311.)
The findings from this review were taken to a group of seven women in Gateshead as part of a workshop. They spoke about how they resonated with all these experiences. While this workshop did not intend to be
completely representative of all women with experience of food insecurity in Gateshead, it helped to highlight their lived experiences and what occurs here.
Mary is a thirty-year-old woman and mother to three children. Mary's eldest child is in secondary school, her middle child in primary school and her youngest is 18 months old. Before children, Mary worked full-time as a school dinner lady in a primary school, although she is not yet back to work. She lives with her partner, who works full-time. However, they still live life on a low-income and access Universal Credit and Healthy Start Vouchers.
Mary manages all the food for the family on a tight budget. A budget that keeps changing. Often for the worst. She does her best to access enough healthy food but is not able to all the time. This comes with significant health costs for Mary.
Despite this, she is constantly juggling her budget and negotiating what to do, deciding whether to heat or eat. This has led to Mary experiencing ruminating thoughts and sleepless nights: "I've had sleepless nights and nights full of tears, where I've just thought I literally don't know how I'm going to get through the next few days. I've got no food, no money...".
(Stack RJ, & Meredith A (2018). The Impact of Financial Hardship on Single Parents: An Exploration of the Journey From Social Distress to Seeking Help. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39, p.235)
Mary spoke about how food insecurity has physical health costs too. The poor nutritional quality diet which lacks fruit and vegetables has led to stomach problems. For Mary, food insecurity also impacts her social wellbeing.
Mary feels unable to participate in social activities that involve food outside of the home. Her budget is so tight that even £3 for a coffee makes a difference, a difference she cannot afford. Healthy Start Vouchers accessed from pregnancy until her child is four years old have helped Mary provide a nutritional safety net for some fruit and vegetables. However, this is not sufficient to feed the whole family.
*Mary's story is an extract from 'It ripples through, it's like a dropping stone into a pond...the ripple effect is huge": Food insecurity and health: Insights from women, children, and frontline workers' (Bell, 2022)