**Content/trigger warning: mental health; food insecurity; death; suicide** In this episode of the Fuse ‘Public Health Research and Me’ podcast, host and public partner Cheryl Blake speaks with academic Ashley Blacklock and peer researcher Claire Atkins about research to tackle food insecurity and improve access to quality food in the North East. They tell us about working with people living with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) to create a nutritious ready meal. They discuss the fantastic feedback they received from participants who said the group sessions had inspired them to cook more at home, make dietary changes, and try new food. The researchers explore how learning from the project and engaging with community could be used in the future as a way of helping people with SMI to improve nutritional intake, as well as increase skills and knowledge around food and cooking. Claire describes the shame that people sometimes feel when visiting a foodbank or getting food donations, and how toxic shame is in stopping people from asking for the help or support that they might need. Listen to the full episode now to find out more. About our guests Ashley Blacklock is passionate about public health and the impact of food on both body and mind. Ashley nurtured this passion into a career, leading her to become a clinical dietitian. During her academic journey, she had the opportunity to do a placement with a research team at Teesside University. Here, she worked on a project focused on school food contracts and strategies that could support schools create healthier contracts and impact positively on the school food environment. In 2023, Ashley became a Research Associate at Teesside University. She is currently involved in a project focused on improving the nutritional quality of diets of people living with Severe Mental Illness. Claire Atkins is the Peer Lead for Research and the Senior Peer Worker for Durham and Darlington. Claire has worked for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust for almost 3 years. Since working for the Trust, she has followed her passion for all things Peer Support. Having her own lived experience of Mental Health gives her a very personal perspective of Mental Health Services and the impact that serious mental illness can have on an individual and their lives. Over the last year, Claire has worked closely with the research team for the Food Insecurity and SMI project, sparking a new passion for research and understanding of the impact of SMI in people’s daily lives. About our host Cheryl Blake is this episode's host. She is a public partner who has collaborated closely with Fuse and the wider public partner-led podcast planning group in creating the 'Public Health Research and Me' podcast. Cheryl is an expert by experience who has also worked with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Northumbria University. Her interests and specialised subjects are around mental and sexual health, domestic abuse, coercive and violent behaviour, and family court and social workers within that system. She supports survivors of sexual/abuse to find female empowerment through art, poetry and meditation. Resources and further information o Jenny’s Pasta aims to tackle food insecurity o Research into food insecurity and severe mental illness o Supporting people with Severe Mental Illness who face food insecurity to access a nourishing meal o What came first, food insecurity or severe mental illness? o Food insecurity in adults living with Severe Mental Illness o Food insecurity in adults with severe mental illness: A systematic review with meta-analysis o Food insecurity in adults with severe mental illness living in Northern England: A co-produced cross-sectional study With special thanks to the Fuse podcast group Emma Adams, Victoria Bartle, David Black, Cheryl Blake, Mandy Cheetham, Lesley Haley, Fiona Ling, Cassey Muir, John O’Shea, Laura Ritson, Viola Rook, Cheryl Wiscombe; David Winter and Ben Smith (editing); Shaun O'Boyle (training); and Academic Audio Transcription for transcribing content. Produced by Ella Anderson and Mark Welford. Music: Tuesday (Glitch Soft Hip-hop) by amaksi. If you're a fan of our ‘Public Health Research and Me’ podcast, please subscribe, rate or review, and share with your friends, families, colleagues and networks. Follow us on X: @fuse_online Contact for more information, or a copy of the transcript prepared by Academic Audio Transcription: info@fuse.ac.uk
