UEA Nutrition Research Supports Norwich Social Enterprise Tackling Food Poverty Through Community Meals

The Sandwich Shop at 16 Wensum Street, Norwich

(IN BRIEF) A University of East Anglia nutrition academic is supporting Eat Social, a Norwich-based social enterprise working to provide nutritious meals for families affected by food poverty. Professor Anne-Marie Minihane of Norwich Medical School has joined the initiative as a non-executive director, helping translate nutrition research into practical community support. Eat Social is partly funded through The Sandwich Shop at 16 Wensum Street, Norwich, run by Lisa Vincent, which operates as a social enterprise to generate income for community meal programmes. The initiative was inspired by local accounts of families struggling to access enough food, including children going hungry and households with no food available. Professor Minihane said that while nutrition research can show what healthy diets should look like, it cannot make a difference unless people can first access food. Eat Social aims to provide meals that are not only filling but also nutritionally balanced, with a particular focus on supporting children and families. Future plans include fundraising and funding applications for programmes such as after-school meals for local families.

(PRESS RELEASE) NORWICH, 12-Jun-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — A University of East Anglia academic is helping translate nutrition research into community action by supporting Eat Social, a Norwich-based social enterprise working to provide nutritious meals for families experiencing food poverty.

Professor Anne-Marie Minihane, from Norwich Medical School at UEA, has joined Eat Social as a non-executive director. The initiative focuses on supporting local families who may struggle to access enough food, while also placing emphasis on the nutritional quality of the meals provided.

Eat Social is partly funded through The Sandwich Shop at 16 Wensum Street in Norwich, a café run by Professor Minihane’s partner, Lisa Vincent. The café operates as a social enterprise, generating income to support the wider community meal programme.

Vincent was motivated to launch the initiative after attending a local anti-poverty meeting where she heard first-hand accounts of families facing severe food insecurity. She said the stories included children going to school too hungry to learn, toddlers eating sand, and households with no food at home. The experience, she said, made clear the need for a practical local response.

Professor Minihane’s involvement reflects UEA’s wider commitment to applying research beyond academia and ensuring that knowledge benefits communities directly. Her work in nutrition translation has highlighted that around 20% of people in the UK, including in Norwich, experience food poverty and may regularly go without adequate food.

Minihane said nutrition research can identify what a healthy diet should look like, but that this knowledge has limited impact when families cannot afford food. For people facing food insecurity, the priority is often survival rather than nutrition, making access to food the first essential step.

She said the initiative is about turning research into practice and delivering knowledge at community level. Without access to food, she noted, nutrition science alone cannot deliver meaningful change.

The project is built around a sustainable model in which the café helps fund the social mission. Vincent said the aim was to avoid relying entirely on short-term grants or donations, which would not provide a viable long-term foundation for community meal provision.

Eat Social’s approach differs from some food support initiatives by focusing not only on providing meals, but on ensuring that they are nutritious and balanced. Professor Minihane said there is an important distinction between giving people food and supporting their nutrition, especially when the goal is to improve health as well as address immediate hunger.

The initiative places particular emphasis on children and families. Minihane said poor nutrition in childhood can affect learning, mental health and development, with impacts that may not always be fully reversed later in life.

She also stressed that children cannot be supported in isolation. When parents are under financial and emotional pressure, they may not have the capacity to prioritise cooking or nutrition, making whole-family support essential.

Since opening last month, The Sandwich Shop has received positive feedback from customers while helping lay the groundwork for Eat Social’s community meal programmes. Future plans include fundraising campaigns and additional funding applications to support initiatives such as after-school meals for local families.

Vincent said the need for the service is already clear and that the next step is to build a model that can grow and make a lasting difference in the community.

The initiative connects academic research, social enterprise and local action, showing how nutrition expertise can be used to support practical responses to food poverty in Norwich.

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SOURCE: University of East Anglia