The University of Hertfordshire’s Food and Public Health Research team have recently completed a study called “Food provision in later life” which was a study about older people’s experiences of getting food in the UK.
The research aimed to show how older people from different household types acquired food, what food they bought and the people and places they acquired it from. The study was funded by the Food Standards Agency and the Economic and Social Research Council to explore the resilience of older people within the UK food system. One of their outputs was a research briefing, ‘Improving food shopping for older people’ is now available to read via this link.
It’s well worth reading before your next trip down to the supermarket, particularly if you shop with or for an older person as I do.
The video the team produced which is on the BSG’s Ageing Bites Youtube channel gives you an idea of why this is such an important topic to consider, although it is often taken for granted that older people will manage.
One of the things I like most about this study though is that the researchers have gone on to to develop a “The Food in Later Life Game” to help people learn more about malnutrition in older people and the actions they can take to help prevent/manage it.
Launched on the 3 October 2018, the game aims to help retailers, professionals, volunteers and other members of the community who work with and live alongside older people to understand how to help the older generation remain ‘food secure’. You can find out more about the game at the following website: