Low-income families cutting back on fruit and veg

Many families on low incomes are buying less fruit and veg because of soaring costs.

According to research by The Food Foundation, the cost of healthy food such as fruit and veg has gone up by 21% in the last two years.

By contrast, the price of unhealthy options, such as processed meats and ready meals, has risen by 11%.

The study also found that healthier foods cost more than twice as month per calorie as less healthy options.

Whereas 1,000 calories of healthy food costs £8.80, the equivalent amount of less healthy options costs just £4.30.

Struggling households face tough choices

Price increases are forcing many households to cut back on how much healthy food they buy.

Of the estimated 8m households currently struggling with food insecurity:

60% have reduced how much fruit they buy
44% have cut down on vegetables

And alarmingly, the most deprived fifth of the population have to spend 45% of their disposable income on food to afford the government-recommended healthy diet.

That goes up to 70% for households with children.

This may be contributing in part to a related issue - child obesity.

Figures show that children in the most deprived fifth of the population are almost twice as likely to be obese by their first year of school as those in the least deprived fifth.

Supermarkets heavily promoting unhealthy food

As the cost of healthy foods go up, less healthy alternatives are being heavily marketed to shoppers.

In fact, 37% on food and non-alcoholic drinks are for unhealthy items.

Meanwhile, 36% of food and soft drink advertising spend is on snacks, desserts, confectionery and soft drinks.

That’s up from 33% in 2022 and compares with just 2% for fruit and veg.

Vulnerable children ‘suffering the most’

Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, warned that “large swathes of the population” aren’t getting the basic nutrition needed for them to “stay healthy and thrive”.

But she believes it’s often “the most vulnerable children in our society” who are suffering the most.

“Not only can lack of nutrition lead to serious health conditions, it can also lead to children being unable to concentrate in school and have lasting negative impact on mental health,” Ms Taylor commented.

This, she said, means inequalities are being entrenched “from a young age”.

What’s the government doing to improve healthy eating?

The government is already taking steps to tackle many of the issues highlighted in the report, such as:

supporting people on low incomes through schemes such as Healthy Start
giving councils powers to stop fast food outlets opening near schools
committing to the rollout of free breakfast clubs at all primary schools
restricting junk food advertising to children

Ministers are also working on a cross-government food strategy in partnership with the food industry.

Daniel Zeichner, the food security minister, said: “We cannot do this alone, which is why we are working with those across the food sector, utilising their expertise, to transform the industry for good.”

Henry Dimbleby, the former government food tsar, added: "This report couldn’t come at a more critical moment.

"As the government rolls out its new food strategy, addressing the incentives that drive the sale and aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods must be a top priority.

“The human and economic toll is too great to ignore any longer."