Foodbank Use and Wellbeing: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey Data in the UKISER External Seminars

Quantitative research on foodbanks is usually based on selected samples of the customers of a major foodbank chain. We make two contributions to the existing literature, using the three most recent consecutive cross-sections of the UK’s nationally representative Family Resources Survey. First, we model foodbank use as a function of income, food security, household composition and other characteristics. Notably, households that have used a foodbank in the previous 12 months are, on average, substantially poorer than never-users. Nonetheless, there is substantial overlap in the income distributions of these two groups. Moreover, when we compare the characteristics of households that have used a foodbank in the last four weeks with households that have used foodbanks in the eleven months prior to the last 4 weeks, we find that these two groups are very similar in all observable respects. Secondly, we explore the relationship between foodbank use and self-reported measures of wellbeing, Life satisfaction, for example, is found to be positively associated with income, but negatively associated with foodbank use. This points to foodbanks being only partially successful in compensating for the (unobservable) adverse circumstances that led to current foodbank use. The large persistence of prior foodbank use on current wellbeing suggests that they only provide temporary relief and there is strong serial correlation in the shocks that lead to foodbank use.

Presented by:

Tanisha Mittal (Lancaster University)

Date & time:

October 15, 2025 12:30 pm - October 15, 2025 1:30 pm

Venue:

2N2.4.16


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