Field: Whether the Household used a Food Bank in the last 12 months (please exclude shared households from analysis - click on i for the correct method)

Description

Whether the Household used a Food Bank in the last 12 months (excluding shared households), as reported by the FRS respondent, where:

• The definition of a household used in the Family Resources Survey (FRS) is 'one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room, sitting room, or dining area'. So, for example, a group of students with a shared living room would be counted as a single household even if they did not eat together, but a group of bed-sits at the same address would not be counted as a single household. A household may consist of one or more benefit units, which in turn will consist of one or more people (adults and children) - see Family Type for more information.
• A new series of questions was added to the FRS from 2021 to 2022 on the topic of food bank usage. This series of questions is asked of the person in the household who knows the most about food purchasing and preparation. This means that the questions do not directly ask about the food bank usage needs of children, and it cannot be determined which individual or individuals the food parcels are for. Food bank usage in the FRS refers only to visits to a food bank when emergency food supplies (food parcels) were obtained. This excludes visits to the food bank made only for other support (e.g. financial advice or mental health support). The circumstances of the household are applied to all individuals within that household.
• To match HBAI published tables and analysis, estimates calculated must exclude shared households (see definition below), such as a house shared by a group of professionals. These respondents may not have insight into the food bank usage of others in their household and may not regularly share financial information. Please select 'Household Status' then click on 'Conventional Household' and then click on 'Filter'. Alternatively, deselect the 'Not applicable (shared household)' category in this breakdown.
• The definition of shared household being used in the FRS is 'a household where the household reference person is unclear or arbitrary, such as a group of students, unrelated adults etc., where the household is being shared on an equal basis'. Households where adult children are living with their parents or where there are lodgers, but the owner lives in the household, are both not considered shared households for the purposes of this definition. See Household Status (conventional or shared) of the Household of the Individual for more information.

Classification

Applicable to: All Individuals in the household:

• Yes
• No
• Not applicable (shared household)
• Not available (before 2021/22)

Quality Statement

The FRS asks food bank usage questions relating to two time periods: 12 months prior to interview, and in the 30 days prior to interview. This means that caution may be needed when making direct comparisons between the FRS results and other studies on this subject. It should be noted that the FRS Household Food Security questions cover the 30 days prior to interview only; caution is needed when comparing household food security status with 12 month food bank usage, and also to other sources that may use different time periods.

The food bank usage estimates present the number or percentage of individuals living in households where a food bank has been used within the last 30 days or the last 12 months. They should not be presented as the number or percentage of people who have used a food bank in the last 30 days or last 12 months, as this does not reflect the variation of food bank usage experiences within households. The circumstances of the household are applied to all individuals within that household.

Further information can be found in the FRS Background Note and Methodology here and in the HBAI Quality and Methodology Report here.

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