When I joined Teesside University in 2016 as a mature student, I had no idea how much it would change my life. I studied food science and nutrition as I was passionate about food, health and social justice. I didn’t expect how quickly I’d go from sitting in lectures to working right in the heart of my community.
Halfway through the course, I took a student research placement through the uni. I worked with researcher Robert Crowe to evaluate a local growing project ‘Street Eats’ and conduct interviews with people growing food in their gardens to see if it improved their physical and mental health. The following year, I applied for another placement, and was placed with Middlesbrough Environment City, a local charity doing amazing work around sustainability and food justice. My role was to map out where support for people experiencing food poverty was working and where the gaps were. This small project was my first real taste of research that meant something – it lit a spark.
By my third year, I was juggling my dissertation with a new role as Middlesbrough’s Food Power Coordinator, having been offered the role after completing my placement. I worked with over 50 local organisations to bring lived experience into conversations around food insecurity. I was never interested in speaking for people, it was about making sure they were in the room, shaping the policies that affected their lives.
After graduating, I kept going. I created the Eco-shop model, a community social supermarket where surplus food was made affordable for those who needed it and saved from going to landfill. What started as a pop-up shop in a primary school grew into a network of over 35 Eco-shops across the North East. During COVID-19, we adapted to offer food deliveries to vulnerable households. It became a lifeline for so many during tough times.
In 2020, I returned to Teesside – not as a student, but as a research associate. I got to bring everything I’d learned from my boots-on-the ground experience into academic research. I started working on public health projects focused on food insecurity and health inequalities. Most importantly I was guided by an outstanding and supportive team at Teesside University, my mentor Professor Amelia Lake, and my colleagues Dr Helen Moor and Dr Claire O’Malley, on how to involve real people in shaping the research that impacts them. With their guidance, I was able to forge a niche role as Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement lead across a range of national and local projects, making small steps toward a more equitable research landscape, where people’s voices are not just heard, but central.
I’ve recently started my first principal investigator role leading a community collaborative research project, Roots to Research. It’s funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research and looks at how grassroots organisations and academics can work better together. It’s all about making research more inclusive, useful and grounded in real life.
Coming back to Teesside as a researcher felt like a full-circle moment. The uni gave me the space, support, and encouragement to find my voice. Now I’m using that voice to help others be heard too. My next personal goal is to pursue a PhD by publication.
By Andrea Burrows
