News · Scientific event
Uncertainty at the table: Food insecurity, anxiety, and mental well-being
At the eleventh Uludağ Thematic Coffee Days meeting, we examined anxiety—one of the defining challenges of our time—from multiple disciplinary perspectives. My contribution focused on the stress and anxiety experienced by people facing food insecurity.
Organized by the Bursa Uludağ University Research and Development Coordination Office on 19 August 2026, the event brought academics and participants together under the theme “People and Society in the Age of Anxiety.”
Anxiety is not only an individual psychological experience; it is a multilayered issue shaped by economic, social, and health-related conditions. Bringing different disciplines together allowed us to discuss its causes and everyday consequences more comprehensively.
In my talk, “Uncertainty at the Table: Food Insecurity, Anxiety, and Mental Well-Being,” I emphasized that unreliable access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food is not merely a question of diet quality. Financial pressure, skipped meals, narrowing food choices, and uncertainty about tomorrow can become persistent sources of stress and anxiety.
Making food insecurity visible requires us to discuss not only the risk of hunger, but also its effects on mental well-being, social inequalities, and human dignity. I thank all speakers and participants, as well as the BUÜ Research and Development Coordination Office, for their contributions to this meaningful meeting.
