Food insecurity is on the rise in UK households due to climate change and inflation, according to government figures, with poorer, younger and disabled people being hardest hit.
A new report by Defra found that many households are worried about running out of food, can’t afford a balanced diet, experience hunger and have missed meals in the past 30 days.
The proportion of households in the UK considered “highly food secure” fell from 87% in 2019-20 to 83% in 2022-23. Those who can afford a balanced diet fell from 92% to 90% over the same period.
“There has been a notable decrease in food-secure households (defined as access by all people at all times to have enough food for an active, healthy life), which has coincided with increased financial pressures to household budgets from both high general inflation and high food inflation,” said the report.
In England, the lowest rate of food security is in the north-west, followed by the north-east, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the West Midlands.
By age, young people are suffering the most from poor food security, with households headed by 16-24 year olds having the poorest rating.
Lower income groups were also less likely to be able to eat healthily, with the poorest households consuming 42% fewer fruits and vegetables than recommended on average.
Overall, access to food and a balanced diet is being threatened in the UK by climate breakdown, rising food prices and Brexit affecting the food supply chain and access to agrifood labour, according to Defra.
“The events of the last three years show a trend of high volatility or weakened stability,” the report says. “The impact of geopolitical and climate events has been to drive up prices of inputs to food production, such as energy and fertiliser and food itself. This has created a challenging business environment for the food sector.
“As a result of the increased costs, food inflation in the UK reached its highest point in 45 years, and was higher than general consumer price inflation compared to 45 years ago. UK food price inflation was among the highest of the G7 economies in 2023, suggesting challenges to UK resilience to price shocks linked to the UK’s energy supply.”
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