About the project
This studentship is linked to a new UKRI funded project, Food Aid Inequality Rectified (FAIR-food). The interdisciplinary research team is collaborating with community researchers and local food aid providers to improve the quality of food made available in food pantries/clubs across Southampton, the New Forest and the Isle of Wight.
This PhD funding is an exciting opportunity to join a team who have been working with local food aid providers in Southampton, New Forest and Isle of Wight for several years. Our established relationships led to a successful bid to extend previous research on diet and health impacts of food clubs in Wessex (Wessex DIET). Now we are working with stakeholders in local government, food aid, voluntary sector and retailers to improve the nutritional quality of food provision in food pantries/clubs in these areas.
We are working with community researchers to understand what they want from food aid. We aim to make the food aid more sustainable and healthier over the time of the project by collaborating with local retail outlets and food producers to optimise the supply chain. A model will estimate change in health and diet over time, when the interventions are implemented in the longer term.
You would develop a project to complement this work. This may include developing additional activities for the food pantries, working with the food aid providers on a new food sharing platform, or innovative ways to source more nutritious food. This is a chance to shape a PhD project to reflect your interests and see the impact of your work in these communities. The research in FAIR and associated PhD will be developed to support transferability to other settings. There is excellent potential to inform the wider body of work on food insecurity and sustainability of interventions through this PhD.
