Vegetable consumption in the UK has fallen by 7.5% over the past year as consumers struggle to afford them amid rising prices and the cost-of-living crisis, new data has shown.
According to a survey from Veg Power, a non-profit alliance which aims to increase vegetable consumption across the UK, vegetable sales have decreased to only 6.2% of retail basket value compared to 6.7% last year.
The vegetable alliance warned that vegetable sales were already starting to fall earlier this year, and households earning less than £30,000 per year would be particularly impacted.
Veg Power also carried out a YouGov survey which found 26% of people said they bought fewer fresh vegetables because of the increase in the price of their groceries, increasing to 49% in lower-income families.
Additionally, food volume sales in general are down 2.9% compared to 2019 but spend has grown by 5.7%.
“Vegetables are increasingly being seen as an unaffordable luxury and we are seeing signs of a worrying decline in sales,” The Food Foundation Anna Taylor said.
She added: “Simply Veg is a much-needed platform for supporting struggling families with the advice and guidance they need to keep their children properly nourished, and to avoid the long-term health consequences of a diet without enough vegetables.”
