Norwich project aims to combat food poverty with nutritious meals
Initiative focuses on delivering healthy meals and knowledge to families in need
A local café is working with a UEA nutrition expert to tackle food poverty in the city.
Prof Anne-Marie Minihane, from the Norwich Medical School, has joined the Norwich-based social enterprise, Eat Social, as a non-executive director.
The new partnership aims to bring conversations around nutrition to families in Norfolk.
Eat Social is a community-focused project that delivers meals to families facing food poverty across the city. It is partially funded through a social enterpirse cafe, The Sandwich Shop.
The café is run by Lisa Vincent, who was inspired to get involved after attending a local anti-poverty meeting, where she was struck by accounts of families struggling for food.
She said: “I came away feeling overwhelmed. There were stories of children too hungry to learn, toddlers eating sand, and families with nothing in the house. I realised we had to do something practical.”
Prof Minihane’s involvement highlights her belief that research means nothing without outcome.
“We generate a lot of knowledge about what a healthy diet looks like,” said Prof Minihane.
“But for many people, that simply isn’t the priority. If you can’t afford food, you’re not thinking about nutrition, you’re thinking about survival,
“It’s not just about producing evidence anymore. It’s about how we deliver that knowledge at a community level and help support people to access healthy food.”
Prof Minihanes research suggests that about 16% of households in the UK live in food poverty. This means that they don't have enough money coming in to buy food. For many people, this means skipping meals.
The collaboration has seen open conversation about nutrition and wellbeing between families and friends who have attended the community meals by Eat Social.
Prof Minihane said: “Providing food and providing nutrition are not the same thing. This is about offering meals that genuinely support people’s health, not just meeting immediate hunger.”
The initiative places a strong emphasis on supporting children, given the significant long-term impact of poor nutrition.
Prof Minihane added: “If children don’t get enough food, it affects everything - their learning, mental health and development.
“And even if nutrition improves later in life, you can’t always fully reverse those impacts.
“You can’t support children in isolation. If parents are under pressure, financially and emotionally, they don’t have the capacity to prioritise cooking or nutrition. This is about supporting families as a whole.”