
The Food Foundation says these families are facing challenges in accessing enough food to eat and the data shows that it is often more nutritious foods like fruit and vegetables which are sacrificed. More than three quarters of the population (78%) said that they would eat more healthily if these items were more affordable.
Of all food insecure households, 64% report cutting back on fruit (vs. 14% of food-secure households) and 50% cutting back on vegetables (vs. 8% of food-secure households) because they were worried about money.
According to the research children from the most deprived fifth of the population are nearly twice as likely to be living with obesity as those in the least deprived fifth by their first year of school.
Similarly, children in their last year of primary school in the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to have experienced tooth decay in their adult teeth compared to those in the least deprived areas.
The Food Foundation says this situation is even more concerning as recent ONS data shows that food prices are steeply on the rise again, including the cost of healthy staples such as vegetables, eggs and fish.
Shona Goudie, policy and advocacy manager at The Food Foundation said: “Food insecurity in the UK is a political choice, not an inevitability. The Government must demonstrate its commitment to tackling this issue by setting clear targets to protect people from food insecurity and building national resilience.
“Over the last five years overall levels of food insecurity have remained persistently high but have fluctuated considerably demonstrating how rapidly conditions can change –either for the better or worse.
“These fluctuations reflect external events, but also policy measures taken by the Government. The Government must use its forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy to commit to halve the number of children experiencing food insecurity.”
The Food Foundation is calling on the Government to commit to reduce child food insecurity levels in its upcoming Child Poverty Strategy. This includes:
- Setting a target to halve levels of food insecurity
- Removing the two-child limit, and strengthening nutritional safety net schemes that support low-income families
- Expanding Healthy Start to all families on Universal Credit, in the same way it has recently been announced Free School Meals will be expanded.
- Ensuring all children eligible for Free School Meals can benefit from them by removing barriers that currently prevent families from registering