A recently released report from the charity The Food Foundation reveals that many millions of UK citizens are still facing food insecurity.
The Roadmap to Reducing Food Insecurity in the UK indicates that food insecurity in the country has remained stubbornly high over the last half decade. One in 10 households are still affected (or 11%), which rises to one in seven households with children (15%).
Of all food insecure households, 64% report cutting back on fruit (versus 14% of food-secure households) while 50% said they cut back on vegetables (vs. 8% of food-secure households) because they were worried about money.
However, the study found that more than three quarters of the population (78%) said they would eat more healthy food if these items were more affordable.
The major recommendations from the roadmap include:
- Ensure wage and benefits levels factor in the cost of a healthy diet.
- Strengthen nutritional safety net schemes that support low-income children – including expanding the ‘Healthy Start’ scheme to all families on Universal Credit, and introducing a national auto-enrolment of ‘Free School Meals’.
- Rebalance the cost of the food basket to make healthy food the more affordable option – including introducing a tax on unhealthy food to subsidise healthy diets following in the successful footsteps of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
- Support local authorities to address food insecurity in their communities through monitoring and social infrastructure.
- Establish a threshold for levels of household food insecurity that triggers emergency measures when crossed.