Today, Feeding Britain is proud to publish our new report, Feeding Community: The Role of Affordable Food Clubs in Building Resilient Communities. This report adds to the findings of Feeding Hope, our 2024 nationwide study into the impact of Affordable Food Clubs on dietary intake and wellbeing, to demonstrate the wider impact of this provision in the communities where it operates.
Once again, it highlights the essential role Affordable Food Clubs play in helping households access nutritious food with dignity, at a time when household budgets remain under enormous strain. Based on new data from our February 2025 survey, in which 2,298 members of the Feeding Britain network took part, the Feeding Community report shows that Affordable Food Clubs continue to make a measurable difference to food affordability, with almost all members reporting that Affordable Food Clubs help their food budget go further, enabling them to access affordable fruit and vegetables and eat more balanced meals.
Our research has found that 53% of members were connected to at least one advice service, including support with benefits, debt, housing, employment, or health and social care, through their Affordable Food Club.
However, it also strengthens the evidence in support of something that has become increasingly clear: Affordable Food Clubs are about far more than food. They are vital community spaces that facilitate connections, both to essential wraparound support services and to fellow community members, whilst providing dignified ways of attenuating household food insecurity and alleviating financial pressure. Especially noteworthy are the general wellbeing outcomes, with more than four-fifths of members reporting that they feel more connected to their community since joining an Affordable Food Club and 78% of members reporting improved wellbeing. What this latest report also shows is that Affordable Food Clubs are playing a crucial role in helping households to reduce their need to access emergency food parcels through a food bank.
84% of members feel more connected to their community since joining an Affordable Food Club.
It is clear that Affordable Food Clubs offer a powerful, adaptable approach to food insecurity. This report provides strong evidence to support their continued role, as part of a wider package of reforms to get more money into people’s pockets and help them stretch that money further, in addressing the challenges faced by households who are struggling to make ends meet. I hope that the findings will be valuable to everyone in our country who is working towards creating a more equitable food system and improving the lives of those who need it most.
– Baroness Boycott, Chair of Feeding Britain