CURRENT statistics on poverty in the UK make grim reading, with trying to digest the bad news exacerbated by a government minister’s “let them eat turnips” advice.

The gaffe-prone Therese Coffey, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, claimed in the Commons that food shortages were short-lived, and meanwhile we should “cherish” seasonal root vegetables. 

Coming from a parliamentarian who benefits from her workplace’s heavily subsidised restaurant menus, this clearly stuck in the public’s craw.

Back in the real world, the number of children in food poverty has doubled, according the Food Foundation as they push the government to provide more free school meals.

In January 2023, 21.6 per cent of households with children reported that their children had directly experienced food insecurity in the past month, affecting some 3.7 million children. That’s compared to 11.6 per cent in January 2022. 

Foodbanks continue to report increased demand — and a worrying drop in food donations. Inflation hitting food and soft drink prices is at more than 13 per cent. On top of that, domestic gas prices are up by 96 per cent, and electricity by 54 per cent.

The burdens are heavier on women, who are still earning less than men, more likely to be in lower-paid, insecure work, and often unable to increase hours of work due to care commitments. 

Being a woman, coming from a black or minoritised background, being a single parent, being disabled and being older, all increase the likelihood of living in poverty — that’s existing on less than 60 per cent of the UK’s median income.

The data was nothing new to the women I met recently, at a cafe in Feltham, an area in outer west London where experience of relying on benefits, using foodbanks, and struggling to make ends meet is all too common.

One single mother, in her thirties, said: “My daughter is eight; she asked me ‘Mum, are we going to start eating turnips now?’ The kids at school were all talking about it. Her dad was from France, and she knows that they tend to feed turnips to cows and pigs. I’m pretty tough, but I think she broke my heart.”

A woman of my age (63) said: “Where’s my pension? That’s what I want to know. And don’t tell me how to manage my finances — thank you, Prime Minister — I can do that, better than most. I was an accountant. I just haven’t got any finances to manage!”

A woman in her fifties had come from the foodbank, with her three-year-old grandson in tow. 

“All those lovely people in the foodbank — hearts of gold — those lovely volunteers. Why are they doing that, though? There should be paid people — paid by the government to give out all the unused food. There should be nice cafes and places to have a really cheap dinner. Oh, were you talking about the turnip woman? Don’t even start me on her…”

The single mother’s friend joined us: “It’s not all about food, but that is one of the worst things. My son’s a teenager — he should be eating everything in the house. But we can’t do that — he knows we have to make it last. He looks pale; he looks ill, actually.”

The women in our cafe conversation had plenty to say in response to my question: “What would you tell politicians to do?”

“Affordable childcare — so we can get proper jobs. Proper, free school meals. A benefits system which brings us actual benefits. Someone in charge of housing — so we can do something about terrible conditions, and not run the risk of the landlord chucking us all on the street. Time — we want time off from worrying about money.”

So, where to turn for support? Step forward Miss Edith Smallwood. In 1886, this heroine used her inheritance to set up the Society for the Assistance of Ladies in Reduced Circumstances.

Nowadays, it’s the Smallwood Trust, with a track record of helping women across the UK to be financially resilient. As well as getting funding to life-changing services, they’re keen to bring the voices of women to policy-makers.

Head of programmes Emma Crump says: “We recently funded a vital pilot project, instigated by the Women’s Resource Centre [WRC] and Manchester Women’s Network which will see them work collaboratively to ensure the voices of marginalised women are heard across the city. 

“The project, ‘Expertise through experience: Women controlling their narratives, creating a common voice, calling for change’ will equip Greater Manchester women’s organisations and their beneficiaries with the skills and confidence to engage with the media, helping to shape a common voice and call for change … to help address some of the root causes of gendered poverty.”

Chief executive of the WRC is Vivienne Hayes, who says the new project will “challenge the separation of ‘expert by experience’ and ‘expert by academia.’

“We know that the two can and should interweave — this is critical to achieve social change.

“We want to see a greater sharing of power. That will inevitably mean a shifting of power, and we want policy-makers everywhere to understand that they — and their work — will benefit from others’ experience.

“Decision-makers need to draw on the expertise of women’s organisations, at local and national levels — here are the women who are delivering high-quality, cost-effective services for the most disadvantaged in our society. 

“Here are the women who have immersed themselves in the relevant research. They can interpret the data in ways which are utilitarian and can be used to develop policy which transforms lives.

“Here are the women who bring a perspective from first-hand involvement in struggling through problems, many of which come from institutional sexism and racism.
 
“Here they are, these wonderful women — ask them, invite them to the table, and listen to them!”

Hayes’s views are borne out in a superb report from the international anti-poverty charity ADT Fourth World. “Understanding poverty in all its forms,” a research project carried out between 2016 and 2019, brought together academics, professionals and people with first-hand experience of poverty. 

The report says: “As well as being an ancient problem, poverty has a modern face in an era of growing inequalities and social divisions. 

“Our research has shown that poverty in the [UK] today is still experienced as a lack of material resources and opportunities, and … as a stigmatising label that blights lives.”
 
The project team here really walked the walk, as well as talking the talk, involving people throughout. The process was arduous, they said, and time-consuming, but they stuck to the principle of genuinely co-operative working. 

As the report says: “…the lived reality of poverty is expert knowledge. This experience is made more powerful when combined with knowledge from other, professional, sources. It is unjust to exclude those most affected by poverty from having a voice in ending it.”

Policy and research consultant Helen Cylwik will support the Manchester project, and already has some key areas to focus on: “We need to change the discourse, to see welfare benefits and public services as enablers, rather than deterrents of economic activity. 

“We should make the tax system more redistributive, to enable the expansion of public services — that would increase job opportunities for women and help families, disabled people, and older people.”

Forming the project team will be Support & Action Women’s Network (SAWN), Olive Pathway (representing members of the Mama Health & Poverty Partnership — MHaPP), Safety for Sisters and Saheli.

SAWN was set up in 2007 to promote the welfare of black/African women in Greater Manchester. Among many projects, they run “Money Matters” services, helping women to manage their finances, in time of increasing difficulty.

Chief executive Rose Ssali says: “If you are an immigrant and have no recourse to public funds, systems barricade you into destitution, which is beyond poverty.

“When women are given an opportunity to thrive, they can do wonders. By ‘wonders,’ l mean feed their children, have suitable housing, access health services and talk about harmful cultural practices in a safe space.

“For black African women, unfortunately, what should be basic subsistence are ‘wonders’.” 

It seems these women are not only interpreting the world, but changing it.

In the interests of research, I looked up turnip recipes. One involves Parmesan cheese; in another, kimchi is implicated. There is turnip tartiflette, with lashings of double cream, which could be “teamed” with navarin of lamb, or duck breast.

So, we hoi polloi should eat cheap root vegetables, but anyone really appreciating good food should add a lot of costly ingredients to make it palatable?

Classics scholars may know that in Roman times, the turnip was the weapon of choice for hurling at unpopular public figures. Everything has a purpose, it seems.

For more information visit smallwoodtrust.org.uk, wrc.org.uk and click here for more on Edith Smallwood.