The Nourishing Norfolk network, led by Norfolk Community Foundation, has created the UK’s first network of affordable food hubs, making food accessible to those in need. An evaluation led by UEA’s Dr. Sarah Hanson and Anna Sweeting, affiliated with the ARC East of England, found that social supermarkets improved nutrition, reduced financial stress, and strengthened community resilience.
Dr. Sarah Hanson and Anna Sweeting, members of the research team, at the Nourishing Norfolk report launch
Research affiliated with the NIHR ARC East of England highlights the important role of social supermarkets in Norfolk, both in preventing crises and in building a strong sense of community. The evaluation found that for every £1 invested, the network generates £6.54 in social value by improving health outcomes, easing the financial burden of inflated food prices, and enhancing local social connections.
The Nourishing Norfolk network consists of 26 community-run social supermarket hubs across the county, along with its own distribution network, designed to tackle food insecurity with dignity. These local, familiar-looking shops differ from food banks by offering a wide selection of nutritious foods, priced lower than major supermarket chains. The hubs also provide access to support for broader challenges, including addressing loneliness, healthcare concerns, and employment issues. In partnership with local charities, the social supermarkets are in diverse areas across Norfolk, including rural villages, coastal and small market towns and urban areas, where financial deprivation and vulnerability to health inequalities are highest.
Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have evaluated the Nourishing Norfolk network to assess the impact of social supermarkets on people’s lives. The study aims to identify opportunities for further development and to better understand the benefits these hubs bring to local communities. Read the executive summary here.
“Our evaluation has found that since Nourishing Norfolk’s launch in 2020, it has supported more than 40,000 people across 15,000 households in 30 communities. These food hubs offer early, accessible support to people who are often missed by other services, with 46.5% of those surveyed saying the food hub was the only support they had accessed that year.”
Dr. Sarah Hanson, Principal Investigator of the Nourishing Norfolk evaluation
The evaluation highlights the significant impact that the social supermarkets have had on individuals’ health and wellbeing, with 62% of shoppers reporting that the network has improved their overall wellbeing. The hubs have increased access to more nutritious meals, reduced financial stress, decreased social isolation and loneliness, and enhanced awareness of how to access support services. One resident shared her experience of food insecurity and the impact of the hubs, saying:
“I have always been independent and self-reliant and now it is tough. I have worked for over 40 years and how can you have done that and be my age and you can’t put the heating or hot water on...It is very important to me to have a sense of control over my life and this place [the hub] has given me a solution and has helped my sense of wellbeing so that I can manage other parts of my life.”
Anonymous, Member of a Food Hub
Each Nourishing Norfolk hub is shaped and run independently by its local community, ensuring that each social supermarket responds to the specific needs of its area at any given time. To improve people’s eating habits, some hubs offer cooking classes, growing projects, and food education sessions. Other hubs have also served as trusted spaces for health and care organisations to engage directly with residents, hosting pop-ups for services such as smoking cessation, vaccination clinics, and menopause and cancer support groups. The evaluation found that having these sessions in familiar settings improved people’s engagement.
Dr. Sarah Hanson, Principal Investigator of the project, reflected on the impact of the network:
“Our evaluation of the Nourishing network has shown once again the power of connected communities. Not only did we find people accessing nutritious food at a price they could afford, we also found in accessing this people were also getting support for wider life challenges.
Dr. Sarah Hanson, Principal Investigator of the project
“These trusted spaces, with support that ranges from encouraging conversations, to noticing abuse to direct signposting to services enables communities to thrive and for people to feel empowered to make life changes to support their wider health and wellbeing. For many, their social supermarket has replaced the post office and village shop and the connection these brought in the past.”
Dr. Sarah Hanson, Principal Investigator of the project
Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, the evaluation conducted a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis, which translates the social impact of initiatives into financial terms, capturing a broader concept of value often missed by traditional accounting. The research team interviewed 67 people and surveyed 124 others, including stakeholders, Norfolk Community Foundation staff, Food Hub Leaders, volunteers, and users of the hubs, to assess the social value created through Nourishing Norfolk. The research team developed a lived experience advisory group to help shape the research approach, language, and interpretation of findings. Anna Sweeting, who led the Social Return on Investment (SROI) and the work with people with lived experience, shared:
“This was truly a new and innovative way of working with lived experience advisors, that I have not come across before. Some of the concepts of the social return of investment analysis was hugely complex. However, the methods Social Value UK suggested, along with creative tools we use regularly, helped ensure that both for qualitative and quantitative parts of the evaluation, PPIE shaped it all.”
Anna Sweeting, researcher on the study
ARC East of England’s Measurement in Health and Social Care Theme Lead, Dr. Adam Wagner, supported the Social Return on Investment analysis of the project. Adam highlights the importance of this study for the ARC East of England’s continued work into addressing food inequalities and nutrition:
“It has been great to support the work in this evaluation which sits in the ARC East of England Measuring Health and Social Care Theme. The innovative network approach adopted the Norfolk Community Foundation shows significant advantages for making groceries accessible to those in need.”
Dr. Adam Wagner, Theme Lead of the ARC East of England Measuring Health and Social Care theme and researcher in the evaluation
The evaluation report was shared at a Norfolk Community Foundation summit on Friday 12 September at the Norfolk Food Hall. A panel of experts, including researchers, local food hubs, and local company Norse Group, discussed how the model is making a significant difference in Norfolk and how it could inspire change across the UK.
Findings of the evaluation have been shared with Feeding Britain, a national charity working to eliminate hunger and food poverty across the UK. These findings will help shape a national conversation and provide a blueprint for similar networks across the country, highlighting the importance of networks like Nourishing Norfolk being rooted in local leadership to address community-specific challenges.
“This report confirms what we have seen every day: Nourishing Norfolk is transforming lives. By putting food at the centre but building out to tackle the wider issues that keep people in poverty, this network is creating stronger, healthier, more connected communities.”
Claire Mackintosh MBE, CEO of Norfolk Community Foundation
For more information, please contact Adam Baker from Norfolk Community Foundation via email: AdamBaker@norfolkfoundation.com.
