20% of people across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are now considered 'food insecure', finds research
March 2023 - Food
20% of people across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are now considered 'food insecure': A survey of consumers throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland has found that 20% have limited or uncertain access to adequate food, which categorises them as 'food insecure'. This is the highest reported level since the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) tracking began in 2020.
The Food and You 2 survey was conducted between April and July 2022 and found that of the 20% who had concerns over food, almost two-thirds cited food prices as a concern (66%), followed by food waste (60%) and the amount of sugar in food (59%).
The survey measures "self-reported knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues", and is an official statistic.
A total of 6,770 adults from 4,727 households across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland took part.
Amongst the key findings for the fifth wave of the research was that most people surveyed had made changes to their eating habits in the last year, with the most significant changes being to what respondents ate and where they ate it, as well as reducing food costs and increased food management behaviours.
When asked about why they had made the changes, the top answer given was for 'financial reasons' cited by just over two-thirds of respondents, followed by health reasons (47%) and in third, because of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdowns (41%).
In addition, the research also found that 86% of respondents were confident that the information on food labels is correct, while around three-quarters (74%) reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain
Emily Miles, Chief Executive at the FSA said: ‘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."
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