Over 20% of UK households are now food insecure, the highest reported level since tracking began in 2020, according to the latest research from the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Food insecurity is defined in the UK as having physical and economic access to sufficient healthy food at all times.
The Food and You 2 survey found that most respondents admitted that they had made changes to their eating habits in the last 12 months; eating out less, ordering fewer takeaways, cooking at home more, buying items on special offer, as well as changing what and where they buy cheaper alternatives
The main cause of these reported changes in eating habits was due to financial reasons (69%), with food insecurity worsening to 22% in Northern Ireland and 26% in Wales, in comparison to 20% among English households.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
The survey also revealed that two thirds (66%) of people are most concerned by rising food prices, with 60% prioritising food waste and 59% most focused on the amount of sugar in food.
“Food and You 2 provides FSA and the rest of Government with robust data on what people think and do when it comes to food. We are seeing high levels of concern about food prices, as well as people making changes to their eating habits for financial reasons,” said chief executive, Emily Miles.
“The experiences people are reporting to us are critically relevant to the FSA’s work as a regulator, and to our mission to make sure people have food they can trust. The FSA will continue to play our part in protecting health and consumers’ wider interests in relation to food.”
