Food insecurity: insights from community food support users in Scotland

Abstract Food insecurity, and associated poor nutrition, stress, and health inequalities, are a public health concern in the UK. Diverse community-based food initiatives, including food banks, pantries, warm hubs, social cafés, and healthy eating programmes, have emerged to address immediate needs and/or promote healthier eating. This study explores the experiences of service users, focusing on the factors leading to food insecurity, impact on daily life, coping strategies, and views on service accessibility and effectiveness. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with service users from diverse backgrounds in Aberdeen City. Thematic analysis revealed a complex interplay of structural hardship and personal resilience. Participants described multiple intersecting factors (sudden income loss, chronic illness, caregiving burdens, and exclusion from welfare systems) as key drivers of acute or chronic food insecurity. Services were valued for providing vital food relief, easing emotional stress, supporting family life, and fostering social connection. However, users identified persistent challenges, including stigma, limited food choice or cultural relevance, restricted access, and inconsistent availability of healthy foods. Coping strategies included meal skipping, strict budgeting, prioritising dependents, resourceful cooking with limited ingredients (e.g., creating varied meals from tins or pantry staples), and reliance on community support networks. Participants called for improvements to food support services including more choice, culturally and nutritionally appropriate offerings, integrated cooking and budgeting support, more discreet service models, and increased outreach. To maximise impact, community initiatives must move beyond short-term crisis response and include more inclusive, dignified models, co-designed with users, to meet immediate needs while addressing the broader drivers of food insecurity. Key messages • Community food support eases food insecurity but must be more inclusive, culturally appropriate, user-informed, and delivered with dignity. • Tackling food insecurity requires shifting from crisis response to addressing structural causes with dignified, sustainable models.