‘It doesn’t feel like charity; it feels like a privilege’: exploring recipient experiences of social enterprise-based food projects in urban areas of socioeconomic disadvantage in the UK

Abstract Due to persistent food insecurity, more households are relying on food support, predominantly food banks. However, food banks often fail to meet people’s nutritional demands in a socially acceptable, dignified way. Social enterprises may represent alternative forms of food provision that address these limitations. The current research qualitatively explored recipients’ experiences of two food projects (Slow Cooker and Meal Box projects) provided by a UK-based social enterprise, Can Cook, within urban areas of socioeconomic disadvantage. Telephone interviews were conducted to explore recipients’ pre-project access to food and their experiences of taking part ( n = 25; 96% women, 4% men). Thematic analysis revealed four overarching themes: (1) pre-project experiences of food access; (2) experiences of the food project(s); (3) benefits of participation; and (4) barriers to engagement. Participants reported that the project(s) enabled improvements to food insecurity symptoms, food skills, and perceived health and psychological wellbeing, yet benefits disappeared upon project completion. Overall, this study provides preliminary, case-specific evidence of the potential of social enterprise models as an innovative alternative to food charity, but highlight the need for longer-term support and upstream changes to allow sustained improvements to food insecurity to be seen.