This study on food poverty and policy is an initiative of Combat Poverty, Crosscare\ud
and the Society of St Vincent de Paul. It arises from a recommendation in an\ud
evaluation of the Dublin City Food Bank, a Crosscare project1. The evaluation had\ud
identified the need to review the wider context for food banking, including the links\ud
between low income, food insecurity and diet, and other policy measures for\ud
improving access to and affordability of food for low-income households.2 Crosscare\ud
invited Combat Poverty and the Society of St Vincent de Paul to work with it in\ud
undertaking the review. Combat Poverty, the government advisory body on poverty,\ud
had previously supported research on low-income families, including studies of food\ud
and dietary intake. The Society of St Vincent de Paul, as a charitable organisation\ud
working with low-income households, had considerable experience of assisting with\ud
the food needs of families, the homeless, older people and children.\ud
The review was undertaken by the Centre for Health Promotion Studies, NUI Galway\ud
and the Women’s Education Research and Resource Centre, UCD for the three\ud
sponsoring organisations. The aims of the study are:\ud
■ to apply and quantify the concept of food poverty in an Irish context\ud
■ to assess and strengthen policy measures relating to food poverty.\ud
The study draws on a diversity of information sources, including an analysis of\ud
secondary data, interviews with key stakeholders and a review of international\ud
literature and policy approaches. The preliminary findings and recommendations\ud
were discussed at a workshop of key interests involved in food and poverty issues