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Having access to enough food does not necessarily mean having access to a nutritionally adequate diet.

New research among people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage in Italy and Poland has found that multiple barriers—from high food prices and transportation difficulties to limited cooking facilities and culturally unsuitable food provision—can combine to make micronutrient-rich diets harder to achieve.

The qualitative study, led by the European Food Information Council (EUFIC) as part of the EU-funded Zero Hidden Hunger EU project, involved eight focus groups with 68 beneficiaries of charitable organizations in Trieste (Italy) and Olsztyn (Poland), including food assistance recipients, refugees and asylum seekers.

Participants described economic, physical, time-related, informational, social, cultural and organizational barriers affecting their ability to access and consume foods rich in vitamins and minerals.

These included high prices and competing household expenses, transportation and work constraints, inadequate cooking or storage facilities, limited availability through food assistance, concerns about food quality, culturally incompatible food provision and difficulties accessing professional nutrition guidance.

Many of these barriers did not occur in isolation. Participants expressed preferences for obtaining micronutrients through foods they perceived as fresh, minimally processed, local or culturally appropriate, while affordability and availability could restrict their ability to act on those preferences.

"Socioeconomically disadvantaged people are disproportionately affected by micronutrient deficiencies," said Dr. Katerina Palascha, senior research manager at EUFIC and lead author of the study. "However, very few studies in Europe have explored the reasons behind this.

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