Exeter Food Bank - Effects of poverty

Children..: Children's experience of school is often determined by the level of disadvantage they face.
"There is clear evidence of boys as young as nine or ten becoming very disenchanted with school and starting to disengage. Overall, this study suggests that poverty impacts considerably on children’s experience of primary schooling. It indicates that the children growing up in families with very low incomes are disadvantaged because of the lack of income." JRF
Parents..: Research has shown that low-income parents are less likely to adequately nurture or supervise their children. They are more likely to use harsh and inconsistent discipline. Although there are many different theories on the effects of poverty on parenting (such as stress and environment), nevertheless researchers agree that parenting capacity is affected by poverty. JRF
Adults..: Adults often feel excluded from the rest of society because they have little disposable income, since their low wages are eaten up by rent and bills. They often don't have the same access to cheaper loans and cannot afford content insurance, so if something happens to what they own it is left broken or stolen. Without content insurance you are more than 3 times as likely to be burgled. All of this can lead to anxiety and stress, alcoholism and drug use.
Older people..: Older people tend to cut back on food when they are financially stretched. They won't do without food but buy the cheaper food when they need to economize. For those who already live on low incomes, this means buying the cheapest food from the cheapest supermarkets even if it is less nutritious. They will also look for reduced price food that has reached it's sell-by date and buy cheap food that will fill them up but not be necessarily nutritious. DWP

Other research