In 2024, there was an estimated 520,000 people across Northern Ireland, including 130,000 children who were living in food-insecure households, an increase from 370,000 in 2022.

Today, one in five Northern Irish households (21%) are experiencing food insecurity, an increase of five percentage points in just two years. Crucially, six in 10 people who faced food insecurity last year did not turn to any form of charitable food support at all – a reminder that food bank statistics capture only a part of a much wider and often hidden crisis.

Carla Smyth, Trussell NI Network Lead has spent many years working to tackle inequality and support people facing hardship. As she took up the role earlier this year, her focus has partly centred on the importance of creating systems that genuinely support people to thrive.

“While inflation has eased slightly over the past two years, this has not translated into a reduction in the need for charitable food support,” said Carla.

“Families across Northern Ireland continue to struggle with the combined pressures of high food prices, housing costs and the cost of everyday essentials.

“The number of food parcels distributed by the Trussell food bank community decreased slightly in 2025, largely due to easing inflation which reflected a slowdown in the rising cost of essentials – alongside fewer people losing their jobs.”

Carla said it was not simply a case of inflation alone solving the scale of severe hardship.

“We’re now seeing the high cost of living being baked in, with many people still unable to keep up with the cost of essentials and pushed to the brink,” added Carla.

“At the same time, levels of need continue to outpace donations. Many food banks say they are at breaking points and are having to purchase significant amounts of food just to keep shelves stocked.”

Anti-poverty charity, Trussell is a community of food banks working towards a future where no-one needs a food bank to survive. Alongside providing emergency food, its food bank community supports people with practical help and advice when they are left without enough money for the essentials.

The first Trussell food bank opened in Northern Ireland in 2011, 15 years on the network has grown significantly. In 2026, there are 22 Trussell food banks operating across almost 50 locations, working alongside many independent food banks.

As Carla outlined, hunger in Northern Ireland, as elsewhere, is not a food problem but an income one.

“Last year, food banks in the Trussell community across Northern Ireland provided 68,000 emergency food parcels. While this marked a decrease on the previous year, demand remains far higher than before the pandemic, with distribution in 2025 still 60% higher than in 2019,” said Carla.

“This isn’t right. No-one should have to turn to a food bank to get by.”

Carla said their relationship with retailers here is critical, stressing they play a vital role in the charity’s work across the region, while retailers – particularly independents – have a unique role as anchors within their local communities.

“The support we receive – whether through hosting in-store food collection points, allowing store collections, donating surplus stock, or encouraging staff volunteering – makes a really big difference to our food banks,” said Carla.

“Last year, 58% of all food bank stock came from public donations via supermarkets, underlining just how central retailers are to our ability to support people facing hardship.

“Despite this generosity, 2025 saw a significant drop in food donations. As a result, many food banks have been forced to purchase more stock, using already stretched and limited funds to ensure everyone who needs a food parcel receives ones. This highlights why strengthening and expanding relationships with retailers remains so important. We are always keen to work with retailers who feel able to support their local food bank in any way, big or small.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH CARLA SMYTH IN THE MAY ISSUE HERE

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Drawing inspiration from both kinship and its island identity, Kinisla is the new corporate identity for the former Kerry Dairy Ireland. Marking a significant new chapter for the company, the new name reflects its deep connection to its people, farming heritage and Irish roots while also signalling a bold, outward-looking future.

The rebrand follows a landmark year for the business, after Kerry Co-Operative Creameries acquired a 70% shareholding in Kerry Dairy Ireland in 2025, marking the beginning of its transition towards a fully farmer-owned co-operative model by 2035 and reinforcing Kinisla’s commitment to supporting farmers and securing the future of high-quality Irish grass-fed dairy.

“This is a hugely exciting time for us, as we mark an important milestone for the business,” said Tim.

“We are proud to reveal our new corporate identity which reflects our heritage and our bold ambitions for the future. Our new name signals our commitment to putting people back at the heart of the business: the dairy farmers who supply our grass-fed milk and the consumers who buy our brands.

“Powered by people and shaped by the land, at Kinisla we are laser-focused on creating and supplying high-quality products that deliver on what consumers really want. This investment will turbocharge our innovation pipeline, strengthen our supply chain and support our ambition to reimagine dairy and inspire what’s next for the category.”

As Tim explained to NR, it was important to involve employees and stakeholders in contributing to the new identity.

“We have taken our time to do this and we have launched with a name that everyone within the business and hopefully our stakeholders and customers all identify with,” added Tim.

“Our new name comes at a time when we are returning to majority ownership bringing us closer to our incredibly important farmer co-operative base.

“The business is performing well and we are moving forward in a position of strength and the new identity celebrates that. It speaks to the two aspects of our business – the kin or our people and the land – the beautiful island that fuels our dairy. Leaning into our rich heritage and our bold plans for future growth.”

With the roots of the company spanning five decades and employing 270 people in Northern Ireland, Kinisla is well known for its market-leading brands including: Golden Cow and Coleraine as well as Strings and Things’ Cheestrings. The company’s core brands, which are well known and trusted by consumers, are also a reflection of the passion to drive innovation that meets ever-changing consumer demand.

“It is very important for us to have a strong relationship with local farmers and suppliers. It’s fundamental to our business and supply chain as it allows us to focus on elevating diary and creating higher value products that consumers want. Our burgeoning snacking business and nutritional ingredients division are the two main priority growth areas for us,” said Tim.

As part of its long-term growth strategy, the business is launching a €300m five-year investment plan across its Consumer Foods and Nutritional Ingredients business divisions.

The investment will fuel growth by supporting manufacturing innovation, operational scale and sustainability initiatives aimed at reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, while creating more than 100 new roles across central functions, innovation and commercial operations over the next 12 to 24 months.

“We have announced the investment programme allowing for us to invest for the future. I have outlined the two growth areas, but particularly relevant for Northern Ireland is consumer foods and continuing to deliver innovative dairy based products,” said Tim.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH TIM GAULT IN THE MAY ISSUE HERE

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Debra Johnston is going out on a high. Her last full year as Trading Controller at Food Force Ireland saw a record pay day, with just under £2 million paid back to its members.

From the early days of the organisation to the tour de force it is today, Debra has been a critical piece of the journey for independent Nisa retailers of all sizes across Northern Ireland.

When she announced her retirement at this year’s pay day event at the start of April, Debra’s news was met with shock but was swiftly followed by a deep appreciation of what she has achieved over the last 25 years.

Having started out as a merchandiser with Musgrave Distribution Ltd after she graduated, Debra got the bug for buying while working at Wyse Byse in Newtownards as a Saturday job, curious about the journey of the products from where they came from and how they reached stores.

As a buyer with Musgrave, she toured the world, benefiting from a wealth of experience while working in conjunction with their buying team from RoI. She later moved to Henderson’s where she enjoyed what she described as the three happiest years of her buying career working with a great team. She also credits this time as instilling her interest in the art of negotiation.

So, when Food Force got in touch a few years later with an opportunity to come and lead them in a new direction, Debra jumped at the opportunity, joining in June 2001.

“I have been here since; they have been lovely people to work for,” said Debra.

“It has been the most frustrating but the most satisfying job. Our business is about people and relationships. If we do not go that extra mile to see these suppliers, they will go to someone else. I want them to think of us every single time.”

With approximately 60 members covering 90 stores, Food Force is wholly owned by its shareholders. Unique in that there is no central warehouse, their negotiations are for deliveries to be made direct to stores, with stores having their own direct accounts with the suppliers.

“My job is to represent the members, promote their profile, get the best possible pricing, put promotions together and organise and host the trade shows,” said Debra.

“The end of the year work is the pinnacle of this; it is the end of year earnings and the long-term trade agreements. We do it so the individual store can be judged on its own performance, it is not dependent on the success of all the stores together. You need to make things equal and accessible for everyone, and we have done that successfully for everyone.

“In our early years, we were paying out around £150,000 and now it’s up to almost £2 million. It reflects the calibre of the stores in our group – they are the best of the best. They’re investing in their businesses all the time and you are part of that process all the time to help them grow.

“Because they are getting direct access with suppliers, they are back to that agility that suppliers can go in and influence sales in their stores that they can’t do with wholesale.

“There is a real relationship there with the suppliers and the retailers and that is the core part of all of this. There is a triangle with the member, supplier and myself, and we are working with each other to get the best deal for each other.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH DEBRA JOHNSTON IN THE APRIL ISSUE HERE

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Business owners across the region are working hard to stay open while they battle against these costs, trying to keep prices down, taking care of their staff and is some cases have pivoted their business in some manner to keep drawing consumers in.

Back in October 2024, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves put forward the first Labour Budget in 14 years, announcing a raft of measures which impacted the retail sector and SMEs generally. Since then, these businesses have had to address these financial implications and assess the viability of their businesses.

Having come through the pandemic, praised for being key workers and being on the frontline of an unprecedented lockdown period, retailers have been bombarded with significant challenges from huge rises in energy bills, the cost-of-living crisis and continued rising business costs, leaving the last few years a hardened battleground for SMEs.

On top of this, legislation working through government will see new challenges within the tobacco and vaping sector, while the single-use vape ban has already made its mark, and illicit tobacco remains a thorn in the side of retailers here.

Post Offices across Northern Ireland are also calling out for an increase in their services, stating they have faced a decade of decline, and are asking MLAs for real help and tangible support to battle the challenges they are also facing.

NI President of the Fed, Julie Brown told NR that they had met with Jim Shannon MP to stress the difficulties independent retailers here are facing, and warned that if higher tazes and energy costs weren’t addressed, they would likely lead to shorter shop opening hours and cutting staff hours.

“These have been very trying and testing times, that is what we are all facing generally,” said Julie.

“So far, we have managed to negotiate our way through without many changes, but we are constantly looking for new suppliers, new lines to bring in and ways to keep our costs under control.”

Meanwhile, Stormont is considering whether to bring forward an Employment Rights Bill that proposes to reform 17 separate areas of employment law in one move. As Roger Pollen, Head of the FSB NI told NR, were it to proceed, the Bill could cause extraordinary turmoil within NI’s vital SME community.

“The Department brought forward a massive suite of proposals nearly two years ago, called the ‘Good Jobs Bill’, yet their consultation process has meant that few employers are aware of them in outline, let alone in detail,” said Roger.

“We now await the revised Bill which, once published, will let business owners start to get to grips with what it might mean for them as employers. This matters; not least as the recent actions of Westminster have repeatedly driven up the cost of employing people, with a worrying contraction in graduate jobs offers perhaps being the harbinger of worse things to come.”

SEE THE FULL FEATURE IN THE MARCH ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

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A group of passionate and innovative independent butchers from across the island of Ireland, the Irish Butchers’ Guild was formed in 2019 initially as an initiative for butchers to support themselves and each other.

Dedicated to delivering uncompromising quality and great service, there are approximately 50 members of the Guild, with a number of those being Northern Irish butchers, including several award-winning businesses.

As founding member and chair of the Guild, Jason Corrigan explained to NR, it is a place for sharing ideas and asking for advice.

“I found that butchers were always seeing each other as competition, but what it comes down to is that we are all looking for customers the same as each other,” said Jason.

“The competition is really with the supermarkets and big multiples.

“There was never any help out there for people and so I decided that we needed to set something up that would give butchers the chance to talk to each and have somewhere to share advice and support each other. We have all gone through similar situations and challenges.”

Now in its seventh year, there was a steady uptake to the Guild and over the years this has grown to around 50 members, with approximately five from Northern Ireland, including Cunningham’s Butchers in Kilkeel, McKay Family Butchers in Ballycastle and Millar Meats in Irvinestown. Guild members regularly travel to member stores and other butchers, something Jason described as very important.

“I really find that physically being in the shop is so beneficial, you see more of what is happening and how things work practically and in the shop context,” said Jason.

“It’s all about helping each other out; everyone is always so approachable and willing to show you around their shop and take the time to explain what they’ve done, it’s really helpful.”

One of their recent trips to Northern Ireland saw Guild members visit the butchery at JD Hunter & Co. in Markethill, notably the 2025 Butcher of the Year at last year’s Neighbourhood Retailer Awards. Head Butcher Adrian Boyd and the team welcomed Guild members as part of their tour of top butchers in Northern Ireland, with the store hailing it a “very special day”.

“We share ideas and new products we have developed ourselves or those that our suppliers have brought to us, and which have worked for us,” said Jason. “It’s about helping each other come up with a new perspective.

“The visits to other butchers are really important. You get together in the evening and talk about everything. Yes, we can do that via WhatsApp, but being together and being able to talk in-depth about a range of things is so important.

“You can pick up little nuggets of gold and you may not have thought about doing something a certain way but hear of how it worked for another butcher. I am a big advocate of going to see other butchers.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH JASON CORRIGAN IN THE 2026 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK HERE

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