Childhood malnutrition: From grassroots to policy actions

Child food poverty levels in the UK are rising, however there is an ideal window for change. Latest estimates from the Food Foundation revealed that 7.2 million adults and 2.7 million children were experiencing food insecurity in the UK in June 2024. Households with children in the poorest fifth of the population would have to spend 70% of their disposable income on food to afford the government-recommended healthy diet, and almost one quarter of families with three children experienced food insecurity because of the two-child benefit limit. This household expenditure is not sustainable or feasible and has long term child health implications. With generous support from the Sheila Kitzinger Programme, we developed a model, using community wealth building approaches to address child food poverty in Oxfordshire. This is a novel approach to improving child health recognises the intersection of the health, educational and food systems, and leverages place-based assets to improve child health. We are creating an open access e-book with practical steps to implement that can be used by NHS Trusts, local authorities and grassroots organisations, to create lasting impact within communities, using case studies. We are also holding a high-level meeting with health policy figures to share learnings at a national policy level. Shobhana Nagraj works in partnership with the East London NHS Foundation Trust, which is the first Marmot Trust in the UK, focused on addressing the social determinants of health. We will bring together the Marmot Trust advisory committee to discuss this and the learnings from Oxfordshire on a national platform and to disseminate practical guidance for improving population health for children.