The Women’s Regional Consortium has submitted evidence to the Right to Food UK Commission, highlighting how women in Northern Ireland are being forced to skip meals, go without essentials and carry the burden of food insecurity as household costs continue to rise.
Women in Northern Ireland are being forced to go without food, heat and other essentials so their children and families can eat, according to evidence submitted by the Women’s Regional Consortium to the Right to Food UK Commission.
The Consortium’s response highlights the scale of food insecurity across Northern Ireland and the particular impact on women, especially low-income women, lone parents, unpaid carers, women in rural areas and women caring for children with additional needs or dietary requirements. It draws on the Consortium’s research with women during the cost-of-living crisis, as well as evidence from women’s centres, community organisations and recent research on food insecurity, free school meals, Healthy Start, social security and low pay.
The submission makes clear that food insecurity is not simply about food. It is about income, care, health, housing, transport, social security, low pay and the ability to live with dignity. Women told the Consortium that rising food prices have left them constantly budgeting, cutting back, buying cheaper and less nutritious food, relying on reduced items, using foodbanks and social supermarkets, and often skipping meals themselves to protect their children from hunger.
Food insecurity is a women’s issue
The Consortium’s evidence shows that women are disproportionately carrying the emotional, financial and practical burden of food poverty. Women are more likely to be responsible for shopping, cooking and managing household budgets, and many are also providing unpaid care. When there is not enough money for food, women are often the first to cut back.
Research carried out by the Women’s Regional Consortium and Ulster University with 250 women in Northern Ireland found that 75% were having the most difficulty paying for food shopping, 89% said food bills had the biggest impact on their household budget, 43% had skipped meals to ensure their children and families were fed, and 41% had needed to use a foodbank or other charitable support because of cost-of-living increases.
Women also described the mental health impact of constantly worrying about food, energy and household bills. The submission highlights anxiety, sleeplessness, stress and feelings of guilt among women who are trying to protect children from the worst effects of poverty.
What is working, and what is not
The Consortium’s response recognises the importance of direct cash payments and community-based support. Schemes such as Healthy Start and Holiday Hunger payments can provide vital help with the rising cost of essentials. Social supermarkets, including those based in women’s centres and community organisations, can also offer dignified access to food alongside advice, emotional support and referrals to other services.
However, the response is clear that charitable food aid cannot be the long-term answer to hunger. Foodbanks, social supermarkets and community supports are helping people survive, but they cannot replace adequate incomes, properly funded public services and enforceable rights.
The Consortium also raises serious concerns about gaps in support in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland remains the only UK nation without universal free school meal provision, the Holiday Hunger Scheme was removed in 2023, and uptake of Healthy Start remains too low. The value of Healthy Start has also failed to keep pace with the rising cost of food, including infant formula, fruit, vegetables and milk.
Income is central to the Right to Food
The response argues that the Right to Food cannot be realised without tackling poverty directly. Too many people on Universal Credit are unable to afford essentials, and unpaid carers face additional food, energy and transport costs while relying on inadequate levels of support. Women are also disproportionately affected by low-paid, part-time and insecure work, and many working families are not eligible for support despite being unable to afford basic food costs.
The Consortium supports The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Trussel Trust’s call for an Essentials Guarantee, an increase in Carer’s Allowance, and a transition to the real Living Wage. It also calls for policy action in Northern Ireland, including universal free school meals, reinstatement of Holiday Hunger payments, and urgent action to increase awareness, uptake and value of Healthy Start.
“You can get a bag of crisps for 60p versus a small carton of strawberries for £3.”
A legally enforceable Right to Food
The Women’s Regional Consortium is calling for a Right to Food law that is specific, enforceable and rooted in human rights. The response argues that food should be treated as essential for survival and dignity, not as a commodity. A Right to Food law must go beyond emergency food provision and place a clear duty on government to eliminate hunger, malnutrition and food poverty.
The Consortium states that any law must recognise the need for nourishing, culturally appropriate and accessible food, including food that meets health, disability and dietary needs. It must also recognise that access to food depends on wider social and economic rights, including adequate social security, decent work, safe housing, transport, education and health.
Lived experience must shape the law
A central message of the Consortium’s response is that women’s lived experience must inform the design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of any Right to Food law. The response calls for accountability mechanisms that reach those most affected by food insecurity and ensure their voices are acted upon, not simply heard.
The women’s sector in Northern Ireland has many years of experience working with women in disadvantaged and rural communities. The Consortium believes that this experience must be used to ensure that policy is shaped by those who know, first-hand, what it means to live with food insecurity and what needs to change.
The Women’s Regional Consortium will continue to call for action that ensures every woman, child and family in Northern Ireland can access the food they need to live healthy and dignified lives.
