Food poverty in Italy, the ActionAid report
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La food poverty It is one of the most dramatic expressions of social inequality, affecting a basic, everyday need: food. In Italy, the phenomenon has assumed increasingly significant proportions, especially after the 2008 economic crisis (which began with the US subprime crisis) and the COVID-19 pandemic. ActionAid's "Fragile Equilibri" report offers a detailed snapshot of food poverty in our country, analyzing its causes, extent, and possible solutions.
Food poverty in peacetime
Food poverty is not limited to the lack of food – which we see afflicting Palestinians trapped in Gaza – but in other latitudes and in times of peace it manifests itself as inability to access adequate nutrition qualitatively, quantitatively, and socially. Deficiencies that compromise health, relationships, and dignity.
In Italy, the phenomenon is closely linked to economic, employment, and housing insecurity. Many families, even though they don't fall within the official poverty thresholds, are forced to reduce their income. quality or quantity of food to cover other essential expenses such as rent, bills, or medical care.
The numbers of food poverty in Italy
ActionAid's 'Fragile Equilibri' report uses three main indicators to measure the phenomenon:
1. Material or Social Food Deprivation (DAMS). In 2023, 11,8% of the Italian population over 16 (approximately 6 million people) experienced at least one form of material or social food deprivation, an increase of 1,3 percentage points compared to 2022.
Sixty percent of these people are not formally poor according to ISTAT thresholds, signaling growing vulnerability even among intermediate income groups.
The most affected regions are Calabria (31,7%), Puglia and Campania, but the phenomenon also affects the North, with Lombardy accounting for over 700.000 people.
2. Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). In 2023, 3,6% of the Italian population (1,8 million people) experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, with a reduction in the quality or quantity of food.
This figure is significantly lower than that of DAMS, suggesting a possible underestimation of the phenomenon, since FIES is designed for low-income contexts and is less suited to capturing less severe but widespread forms of insecurity.
3. Relative Food PovertyIn 2023, 15,6% of Italian families (over 4 million) spent less than the national average on food.
The regions with the highest values are Sardinia (27,2%), Molise (24,6%) and Calabria (21,9%).
Identikit of the most vulnerable
Food poverty affects people unequally, following well-defined lines of socio-demographic fragility:
– age range: 35-44 years;
– education level: low;
– employment: unemployment and precarious work;
– families: single-parent (separated, single, widowed) or large;
– origin: non-European migrants (deprivation rate higher than 23%, double that of those born in Italy);
– housing conditions: rented at market prices.
The interaction between these factors exponentially increases the risk: for example, immigrant women in Southern Italy have a greater than 30% probability of experiencing food deprivation.
The structural causes
Food poverty in Italy is the result of complex dynamics:
– Dismantling of welfareNeoliberal and austerity policies have reduced social safety nets.
– Job insecurityThe increase in unstable jobs and low wages (without even achieving a minimum wage law) limits access to adequate food.
– Rising cost of livingInflation, especially in food prices, is exacerbating families' difficulties. We recall the impact of the positions taken during the Russia-Ukraine war, with the soaring cost of gas (cooking and heating), sunflower oil, and generally of quality, nutritious food, forcing many families to resort to low-cost options;
– Territorial inequalitiesThe gap between North and South is also reflected in access to food.
ActionAid's recommendations
To address the problem in a structural way, the ActionAid report proposes:
1. Review the measurement tools. Adapt the FIES (Food Insecurity Experience Scale) – a system for measuring the severity of an individual or family's food insecurity – to the Italian context and promote local participatory surveys.
2. Make school meals an essential serviceAs in low-income countries, where school meals are often the most balanced and abundant of the day, it is recommended that free access to school meals be provided at least for primary school children.
3. Going beyond the care-giving approachPromote integrated policies that address the structural causes of food poverty.
4. Invest in qualitative researchListening to people's direct experiences to build effective responses.
Not just soup kitchens
Food poverty in Italy is a multidimensional phenomenon that requires equally complex responses. As ActionAid's 'Fragile Equilibri' report highlights, distributing food is not enough: we need a national strategy that combines economic, social, and cultural interventions, recognizing access to adequate nutrition as a fundamental right. Only in this way will it be possible to break the vicious cycle of poverty and build a more equitable future for all.
Marta Strinati
References
– ActionAid, “Fragile Equilibri: The Numbers of Food Poverty: Between Inequalities, Lived Experiences, and Invisible Dimensions,” 2025. https://www.actionaid.it/pubblicazioni/fragili-equilibri/
– ISTAT, “Living Conditions and Family Income,” 2023. https://www.istat.it/comunicato-stampa/condizioni-di-vita-e-reddito-delle-famiglie-anno-2023/
– FAO, “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World”, 2024. https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/ebe19244-9611-443c-a2a6-25cec697b361
