FOOD POVERTY AND HEALTH
Rising food poverty will impact on the health and wellbeing of Shropshire residents
There is a well documented link between diet and health
addressing food poverty can improve health outcomes
food poverty
Many people in Shropshire fall into food poverty because of health issues or disability. In many cases these households are unable to improve their financial position
Shropshire has higher than national average number of benefits claims due to sickness or disability (8,600 people Apr 2017-Mar 2018)
People with long term illness or disability have been particularly affected by changes to the benefit system
Food banks across Shropshire report high levels of people with mental health issues seeking help with food
obesity
70.3% of adults in Shropshire are overweight or obese
Poverty and Obesity often go hand in hand. With poor diets impacting on health
The cost to the NHS of diet related ill health has been estimated at £6 billion per year
eating well
The UK government recommends that we all plan our meals using the nutritional advice in the Eatwell Guide
Research suggests that this costs £41.93 per person per week
Households living on low incomes will spend significantly less
squeezed food budgets
When incomes are squeezed, food is often the only part of a household budget which can be cut
Families on extremely low food budgets tend to focus on foods which are filling, rather than foods which have optimum health benefits
Food prices rose 28% in UK between 2007 and 2016, but average household incomes rose 5.1% in the same time period
After housing, fuel and power costs food is the largest expenditure for low income households, at 14.3% of their income