The Governmentโs commitment to endย massย dependence onย emergency food parcels is an ambitious and welcome objective. The recently announced Crisis and Resilience Fund has the potential to support this journey. In our latest blog, our Head of Advocacy, Impact and Communications, Amy Deptford, considers what needs to happen for the UK to move beyond crisis support to build a healthier, more sustainable food landscape.ย
Iโve been thinking a lot lately about how we shift the community food offer from anti-poverty to pro-health. Most of us working in the sector would agree that emergency food parcels are not a nutritious or sustainable way to support people at the point of crisis. Typically made up of tinned, dried and other ambient foods, with limited fresh produce, research shows that emergency food parcels are inconsistent in meeting nutritional requirements and often fail to reflect peopleโs cultural preferences or existing health conditions [1].
The direction of travel set out in the recently published Crisis and Resilience Fund guidance was cause for optimism, particularly its encouragement for local authorities to โthink creatively about new approaches to building sustainable food landscapesโ and to support people to transition away from crisis support and towards greater financial resilience. If we are serious about making that shift, I believe we need to see four changes in how community food is designed and funded.
First, a shift from food security to nutrition security.
Focusing solely on whether people are eating enough has contributed to a system that leaves some of the most disadvantaged communities living with high levels of food-related ill health. This has profound consequences, not just for individuals and families, but for the wider economy and the NHS. The costs of our unhealthy food system are estimated at ยฃ268 billion every year [2], almost equivalent to total annual UK healthcare spending. To put this another way, our current food system is costing around four times more in health-related costs than it would cost to fix it.
From our work at Alexandra Rose, we know that if you give people experiencing financial difficulties the means to buy healthy food like fruit & veg, in a way that supports local healthy food businesses, they do it.
Our evaluation of Southwarkโs Rose Vouchers for Early Years programme found that after six months of receiving Rose Vouchers, the proportion of children and parents eating five or more portions of fruit & veg increases from 7% to 64%, and 15% to 55% respectively [3]. Families told us that Rose Vouchers supported them to try a wider variety of fruit & veg, and to respond to their childrenโs preferences in ways they previously couldnโt afford.
โThere are a lot of things that I wouldnโt buy in the supermarket because of the price, such as raspberries, blueberries, aubergine and asparagus. But Iโll buy these things with my [Rose] vouchers. Now, when my child says theyโd like watermelon or papaya, I can buy it. I couldnโt afford this before.โ
We know that eating a variety of fruit & veg supports healthy weight maintenance and reduces the risk of food-related ill health such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer [4].
The question isnโt whether or not we can afford to support interventions that offer healthy, fresh foods and choice; itโs whether we can afford not to.
Second, a shift from redistributed surplus food to investment in healthy food environments.
There is encouraging evidence that affordable food clubs, pantries and social supermarkets can offer a more nutritious and dignified alternative to food banks [5]. However, we need to be honest about the fact that many of these models are reliant on surplus food, which is not sustainable. A recent report by FoodRise [6] reveals the stark reality that volunteers are bearing the emotional burden of sorting, repackaging and disposing of what cannot be used.
Reliance on surplus food also risks entrenching a two-tier food system, where people on low incomes are offered whatever is left over, rather than having choice and access to high-quality fresh food. What works better are models that centre choice, where people can shop in real retail settings that put money back into local independent healthy food businesses. This approach supports peopleโs dignity and builds stronger local food economies.
Third, a shift from โjust foodโ to connecting people with wider support.
Our work at Alexandra Rose has found that well designed place-based interventions can build financial resilience and connect people to wider support services. Seven in ten (70%) parents in our Southwark project had not used their local childrenโs centre before receiving Rose Vouchers. Social prescribers and other healthcare professionals on the Fruit & Veg on Prescription project in Tower Hamlets referred participants to an average of five additionalย services [7]. Regular Rose Voucher collection brings people through the door, builds relationships with staff and increases engagement with wider support services. Food can be a powerful gateway, but only when programmes are designed with this in mind.
Finally, a shift from siloed food policy to a whole-systems approach.
As Henry Dimbleby noted in the National Food Strategy, responsibility for food policy is spread โLike a thin layer of jam on toast across Government.โ Siloed solutions that address food insecurity without tackling the root causes or investing in community food infrastructure are destined to fail. The Crisis and Resilience Fundโs intention to build sustainable food landscapes presents an exciting opportunity for local authorities to take a more joined-up approach. For example, by combining Crisis and Resilience funding with Pride in Place funding.
The Crisis and Resilience Fund and the Governmentโs commitment to ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels present an opportunity to invest in community food approaches rooted in dignity, health and choice. Iโd like to see local authorities fund projects that provide access to fresh, healthy food, invest in local food economies and connect people to wider support services. By investing in sustainable, place-based approaches, we can build a food system that works for everyone.
[1] Oldroyd, L., Eskandari, F., Pratt, C. & Lake, A.A., 2022. The nutritional quality of food parcels provided by food banks and the effectiveness of food banks at reducing food insecurity in developed countries: a mixedโmethod systematic review. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 35(6), pp.1202โ1229.
[2] Food, Farming & Countryside Commission (2024). The false economy of big food and the case for a new food economy. FFCC_False-Economy_report_v4.pdf
[3] Alexandra Rose Charity, (2024). Southwark Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg Project Report. Available at: https://www.alexandrarose.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Southwark-report-Feb-2024-compressed-1.pdf
[4] Boeing, H., Bechthold, A., Bub, A., et al., (2012) Critical review: vegetables and fruit in the prevention of chronic diseases. European Journal of Nutrition, 51(6):637โ63.
[5] Lopez, A., Defeyter, M. A., Stretesky, P. et al., (2025). Feeding Community: The role of affordable food clubs in building resilient communities. Feeding Britain. Available at: https://feedingbritain.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FINAL-Feeding-Community-Report.pdf
[6] FoodRise, (2025). Used by: How businesses dump their waste on food charities. FoodRise. Available at: https://foodrise.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Feedback-UsedBy-Feb25-HighRes.pdf
[7] Alexandra Rose Charity, (2024). Exploring the power of Fruit & Veg on Prescription. Available at: https://www.alexandrarose.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Exploring-the-Power-of-Fruit-Veg-on-Prescription_ARC-web.pdf