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Apr 8, 2024 · What is food insecurity? Household food insecurity is defined in broadly the same way across several countries and split into two categories: ‘Low food security’ means that the household reduces the quality, variety, and desirability of their diets.
Jun 22, 2023 · This evidence scoping review identifies the landscape of research and data on Household Food Insecurity in the UK, covering that produced by academia, government departments and wider civil...
- Cator 4.1.1 Food Expenditure Growth Compared to Other Household Spending Growth
- Cator 4.1.2 Low-Income Households’ Share of Spending on Food
- Cator 4.1.3 Price Changes of Main Food Groups
- Cator 4.1.4 Household Food Security
- Cator 4.1.5 Access to Food Shops in England
- Cator 4.2.1 Eligibility For Free School Meals
- Cator 4.2.2 Take-Up of Healthy Start Voucher Scheme
- E Study 4.1 Food Aid
- E Study 4.2 Public Sector Food Procurement in England
- About The UK Food Security Report
Headline
Across all households in the UK, food and non-alcoholic drink is the fourth most significant household expenditure after housing, transport, and recreation and culture. Between 2009 and 2020, across all households in the UK, real terms expenditure on food increased by 3.9%, compared to 13.4% for housing and 4.7% for transport.
Context and Rationale
Households’ ability to afford food is linked to overall pressures on the household budget. This indicator puts food expenditure in the wider context of other household spending to illustrate how growth in other household spending categories may impact the budget available to spend on food. Other essential expenditures from the household budget include housing, fuel and power, household goods and services, and transport. Some of these expenditures such as electricity and gas bills are consider...
Data and Assessment
Data: Contributions to household expenditure growth by Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) category over time Source: ONSFamily Spending in the UK Figure 4.1.1a: Average share of spend in all households FYE2020 In FYE 2020, the average weekly household expenditure in the UK was £588, down slightly, but not significantly, from FYE2019 when it was £603 (adjusted for inflation). In FYE2020, housing, which does not include mortgage interest or council tax, was t...
Headline
The poorest 20% of households spend a higher proportion of their income on food and are thus more exposed to changes in food prices. Incomes for the bottom 20% of households have decreased since 2016 to 2017. The proportion of household income spent on food has remained broadly consistent in the last decade for all UK households, including the bottom 20%. Between 2014 and 2020, food prices in real terms were on a downward trend, meaning that food has become cheaper compared to previous years.
Context and Rationale
The purpose of this indicator is to measure the burden that spend on food places on the household budget for low-income households. The data in this indicator looks at the share of the household budget spent on food purchased to consume at home. Food tends to account for a greater percentage of household spend for low-income households compared to higher income households. Comparing against all households shows the greater effects food price rises may have on low-income households. Low income...
Data and Assessment
Indicator:Spending on food purchased for home consumption as a percentage of total spending, by all households and low-income households Source: ONS Family Spending, 2019 to 2020 and ONSConsumer Price Inflation Figure 4.1.2a: Average spend on food and non-alcoholic drinks, percentage of total spending by low-income and all households, 2008 to FYE2020 The data compares the percentage of the average weekly household expenditure that is being spent on food and non-alcoholic drinks, for all house...
Headline
Since 2011, food prices overall have fallen in real terms. This has varied by food groups. Vegetables (including potatoes), milk, cheese and eggs, and meat have all become cheaper in real terms. Fruit prices have increased faster than overall inflation, meaning they have become more expensive in real terms than ten years ago.
Context and Rationale
The aim of this indicator is to monitor trends in the affordability of a healthy diet to provide a measure of consumers’ nutritional food security. The Consumer Prices Index including Owner Occupiers’ Housing costs (CPIH) food groups that are analysed in this indicator serve as a proxy for some of the main foods recommended by government for a healthy diet and look at vegetables including potatoes, fruit, milk, cheese, and eggs, fish, meat, and bread and cereals. Food price increases can affe...
Data and Assessment
Indicator:Index of real terms food prices for vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, bread and cereals, and milk, cheese, and eggs. Data: Office for National Statistics, CPIH Figure 4.1.3a: Percentage change in prices between October 2011 and October 2021, overall CPIHand food and non-alcoholic beverages The overall CPIHrose 20% between October 2011 and October 2021. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 9% in the same period. Figure 4.1.3b: Percentage change in real terms prices between October 2011...
Headline
According to government data from FYE2020, 92% of households in the UK regarded themselves as food secure. 8% regarded themselves as food insecure; of this, 4% reported low food security and another 4% had very low food security. Food insecurity is not evenly spread across society, with age, disability, ethnicity, and geographical location all factors affecting household food security.
Context and Rationale
In March 2021, food security data for all UK households was published in the ‘Family Resources Survey: financial year 2019 to 2020’ for the first time, covering the period of April 2019 to March 2020. This surveys whether heads of households have sufficient food to facilitate an active and healthy lifestyle. The person with the most responsibility for buying and preparing food in the household (head of household) is asked to assess their overall household food security within the last 30 days...
Data and Assessment
Indicator: Household food security status of all households, FYE2020, UK Source:Department for Work and Pensions, Family Resources Survey Note: A summary of the scoring of food security categories and definitions in the Family Resources Survey can be found in the Appendixof this report. Figure 4.1.4a: Household food security by region , FYE2020 There were regional differences for household food security levels. The North East and North West of England had the lowest levels of food security, a...
Headline
Household food security depends on physical access to food shops. In the regions of England with the lowest access to food shops, over 95% of the population can reach a food shop within 30 minutes without needing a car, and over 84% within 15 minutes. Data on the issue is currently only available for England. Access to food shops is not equal across regions, with percentages being lower in more rural areas. Trends towards increased use of online shopping and deliveries, and the impacts of the...
Context and Rationale
Household food security does not only depend on food affordability, but also on the ability of consumers to physically access food shops. Potentially vulnerable are those households without access to a car or means of private transport as well as less mobile individuals such as disabled people or the elderly. Travel distances are higher in rural areas, which typically have a more dispersed population. What this data does not show is the cost and selection of food available to consumers in the...
Data and Assessment
Indicator:The number and percentage of households within 15 or 30 minutes of a food shop by public transport/walking Source: Department for Transport (DfT), 2019, England only Note:This indicator contains data on England only. The Welsh and Scottish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive do not regularly collect data on this information. Food shops are defined here as grocery shops, supermarkets, or convenience shops. The transportation mode ‘public transport and walking’ used in this...
Headline
Eligibility rates for free school meals have been fairly stable across the UK in recent years, with Wales and England seeing an increase from 2018 due to the introduction of Universal Credit and its transitional protection. There was also a further increase between January 2020 and January 2021. This is likely due to COVID-19 impacting households’ financial situations as well as the continuing Universal Credit transitional protection measures, which have extended eligibility to more pupils. E...
Context and Rationale
All four nations in the UK offer the option of free school meals to eligible pupils. Free school meals are intended to support learning and development to ensure that pupils do not miss out on lunch due to financial constraints. To claim free school meals (outside of the infant free school meals available to all households in England and Scotland), either family or pupil must be claiming particular state benefits. Data from the Family Resources Survey shows that households on these benefits a...
Data and Assessment
Indicator:Eligibility rates of Free School Meals Source:Department for Education, Welsh Government, Scottish Government, Northern Ireland Department of Education Note: The different countries have different eligibility thresholds for Free School Meals. This may impact the levels of eligibility between countries and make direct comparisons between countries more complex. Figure 4.2.1a: Percentage of pupils eligible for Free School Meals, UK, 2020/21 In FYE2021 the region or country with the hi...
Headline
Healthy Start vouchers are a scheme in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to support people on low incomes to access pre-natal vitamins, infant milk formula, and healthy food for young children. In Scotland an equivalent Best Start Foods scheme launched in August 2019. The take-up rate of the Healthy Start voucher scheme was relatively stable between 2019 and 2021. Eligibility rates have increased in England and Wales, nd decreased in Northern Ireland between early 2019 and summer 2021. The...
Context and Rationale
The Healthy Start voucher scheme is available in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In August 2019, Scotland introduced its own scheme called the Best Start Foods scheme. Both schemes are aimed at enabling low-income families with young children, and women during pregnancy, to access healthy food and vitamins. Beneficiaries need to meet certain criteria determined by their income level, stage of pregnancy, and age of their children to be eligible for the schemes. Once qualified, families r...
Data and Assessment
Indicator:Take-up rate in the UK Source:Department of Health and Social Care Note:The take-up rate shows the percentage of people who have successfully applied for vouchers or payment cards, out of the people who are eligible. This does not mean that the vouchers were spent. Figure 4.2.2a: Take-up rate for Healthy Start vouchers by region and country, February 2019 and August 2021 In August 2021, the take-up of Healthy Start vouchers (and Best Start payments in Scotland) in the UK was 61.9%,...
Overview
There is no comprehensive record of the number of organisations providing food aid in the UK. This is because many different types of organisations provide food aid, including registered charities, places of worship, community organisations, schools, hospitals, and commercial and social enterprises. Government data is limited regarding the number of individuals or households receiving food parcels, how many parcels they might have received and over what period. However, DWPhas measures in tra...
Background
This report defines food banks as organisations that distribute food to those in need. Food banks are seen as emergency crisis provision and are often the last resort for individuals before going hungry. According to the Trussell Trust, ‘destitution – and the resulting inability to afford essentials – is the main reason for people needing to use a food bank.’[footnote 19] Food aid is provided by a very broad range of organisations, including registered charities, churches, schools, hospitals,...
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and government response
The COVID-19 pandemic tested the UK’s food supply system more than any other time in over 70 years. Businesses across the food supply chain had to adjust rapidly to greatly increased consumer demand. People spent more time at home and ate out less. The overnight closure of many businesses due to lockdown meant that many individuals lost their source of income and had to find alternative ways to feed themselves and their families. During the period when lives and livelihoods were significantly...
Overview
Public food procurement impacts almost 24% of the population in England and is an important lever to promote a healthy, sustainable food system, to support economic growth, and deliver a broad range of social, environmental, and health benefits. Defra is responsible for updating the public sector food procurement standards and ensuring any risk of food supply disruption is mitigated. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is responsible for the nutrition standards in the government b...
Background
The GBSF set mandatory and best practice requirements for procurement of healthier, more sustainable food in the public sector in England. The standards were originally introduced in 2011 as a means of demonstrating leadership and providing clarity around what constitutes sustainable, healthy food and catering procurement. The standards will be consulted upon and updated in early 2022 to maximise the intended social, economic, and environmental impact. This may include reporting on key metric...
Discussion
Almost 2 billion meals are served in public sector settings each year.[footnote 23] Government spend on food is an estimated £2.4bn, which is 5.5% of the UK food service sector turnover. Of the total spend, 29% is in schools, 29% in further and higher education settings, 25% in hospitals and care homes, 11% in the armed forces, 5% in prisons, and 1% in government offices.[footnote 24] Food eaten in schools could make up as much as 50% of a child’s diet in termtime, and for some a free school...
The UK Food Security Report sets out an analysis of statistical data relating to food security, examining past, current, and predicted trends relevant to food security to present the best available understanding of food security. It fulfils a duty under Part 2, Chapter 1 (Section 19) of the Agriculture Act 2020] to prepare and lay before Parliament...
Household food insecurity is a widely used concept in high-income countries to describe “uncertainty about future food availability and access, insufficiency in the amount and kind of food...
Jul 11, 2024 · Introduction. This is the first release of the new annual UK Food Security Index. The index gives an assessment of the state of UK food security 2023 to 2024, using the latest available...
A YouGov survey by the Food Foundation, a food poverty charity, found that in June and July 2024, 13.6% of households in the UK were ‘food insecure’ (ate less or went a day without eating because they couldn’t access or afford food).
The searches for research in progress returned a number of different doctoral projects in the field of household food insecurity including on concepts, experiences of different population...
