Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Oasis Collector's Edition is HERE! - Get yours before they go.
GET MINE
Social Justice

Why food insecurity means homeless people need dieticians

Hunger can stop disadvantaged people from getting into education or work, says Centrepoint diet expert Isabel Rice

Food bank Trussell Trust

A healthy, balanced diet is difficult to fit into any lifestyle, even more so for those who are homeless. People sofa surfing, in supported accommodation or rough sleeping can be affected by hunger and malnutrition, preventing them moving on with their life.

Isabel Rice is a dietician who works for homelessness charity Centrepoint. She says that food insecurity is on the rise.

“We did a survey in 2017 and more than 60 per cent [of clients] said they go to bed hungry or skip meals because of a lack of money. In the current climate with universal credit and benefit issues it’s happening more and more.

“Hunger has a knock-on effect on everything else. If you’re malnourished you can’t function properly. We see a lot of nutritional deficiencies, particularly vitamin D and iron deficiency, which leads to tiredness, low mood, depression – on top of the fact that everyone we work with has been through some kind of trauma.

“We also know that worrying about food and being hungry has a negative impact on mental health. It’s a cycle. Anything you’re trying to do – get someone into education or work, or support them with substance issues – if they’re in a place where they’re not healthy it puts them at a massive disadvantage.”

There are several reason homeless people struggle with eating properly, besides the economics. Some are anxious to go into shops where they can feel under constant observation. They often lack the time, place to cook and the skills to do so. Rice works with many young people who were brought up without ever having a homemade meal.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Rice says a lot of the people she works with will only eat once a day, “if that”, especially if they have substance use issues which take priority when money is limited.

“If you think of the typical teenage diet, it’s generally not exactly in line with recommendations,” she says. “Teenagers who are living in a supportive family might go to the shops and buy sweets after school but when they get home they’re probably going to have a decent cooked-meal. Some of the young people I’ve worked with have never had that.”

Read the rest of the special report in this week’s Big Issue.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

Will you sign Big Issue's petition to ask Keir Starmer to pass a Poverty Zero law? It's time to hold government to account on poverty once and for all.

Recommended for you

View all
PIP cuts are paused after 'shambolic' series of U-turns – but is it enough to rebuild trust in Labour?
Keir Starmer
Disability benefits

PIP cuts are paused after 'shambolic' series of U-turns – but is it enough to rebuild trust in Labour?

Here's why 49 Labour MPs still voted against Starmer's benefits bill: 'It's not the Labour way'
Liz Kendall
Disability benefits

Here's why 49 Labour MPs still voted against Starmer's benefits bill: 'It's not the Labour way'

Police could stop opioid deaths with this drug. So why do some UK forces stop officers carrying it?
A police officer administers nasal naloxone.
Drug deaths

Police could stop opioid deaths with this drug. So why do some UK forces stop officers carrying it?

Thousands of children find hope in tent schools in Gaza: 'We try to make the students smile'
Students at Gaza Great Minds
Gaza

Thousands of children find hope in tent schools in Gaza: 'We try to make the students smile'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.