About
I joined the Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems in June 2022. My background training is in nutritional sciences, but I apply a wider determinants framework to this field, examining how structural and societal factors shape the way that people eat and what foods they can access and afford. My work predominantly focuses on food insecurity, that is, people lacking the financial means to ensure sufficient and consistent access to the food they need. I have examined the rise of food banks in the UK and the wider problem of food insecurity in the population and across high-income countries.
I also examine community food aid systems, asking if they are an adequate and appropriate response to the problem of food insecurity. I am part of the Mandala Consortium, a project being conducted with food systems partners in Birmingham and that uses systems thinking to identify leverage points for improving diets of low-income groups. I am currently leading two evaluations of community food aid interventions, in partnership with Birmingham's Food Systems team, that have emerged from this work.
I am also the lead on projects in the community work stream of the SALIENT consortium, including leading a randomised controlled trial in a food bank setting and evaluating the impacts of a community food shop model on food insecurity and well-being across England. You can find out more about these projects here: https://www.salientfoodtrials.uk/
I predominantly use quantitative methods, but as part of an ESRC-funded COVID-19 project on food insecurity, my work has also involved qualitative case study methods to examine policy and charitable responses to food insecurity during the pandemic.