Food insecurity rising amid concerns about Middle East effect on prices

Food insecurity is rising in the UK as concerns mount about the effect the Middle East crisis will have on supermarket prices, a charity has warned.

The Food Foundation said 12% of UK households experienced food insecurity in January, including 6.3 million adults, up from 11% in June last year.

Some 15% of households including 2.2 million children experienced food insecurity in January, it said.

The charity classifies people as food insecure if they or anyone in their household had smaller meals than usual or skipped meals, had been hungry but not eaten, or had not eaten for a whole day because they could not afford or get access to food over the past month.

YouGov data, analysed independently for the charity, suggests food insecurity levels peaked during the height of the cost-of-living crisis in 2022 and had remained high but were slowly decreasing.

However the latest figures suggested that rates were rising again, it said.

And it warned that fears were growing over what a drawn-out war in Iran could mean for food prices and food insecurity levels due to rising energy prices and a limited supply of fertiliser.

The Food Foundation’s “Basic Basket Tracker” shows that the price of a typical shopping basket is 33% higher than it was in April 2022.

The charity has joined calls for a “Good Food Bill” to secure a domestic supply of nutritious food that is more resilient to price shocks.

Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, said: “Many are asking whether the conflict in Iran will push up food prices. The honest answer is: it will, if it is prolonged.

“But that question misses the bigger point. The real issue is that the UK food system has become dangerously exposed to shocks far beyond our borders.

“What we need now is a Good Food Bill that sets out a long-term framework for building resilience in the UK food system — one that holds successive governments to account and protects citizens and farmers alike.”

Tim Lang, professor emeritus of food policy at City St George’s, University of London, said: “If getting prepared to feed the public well in times of shock was taken seriously, we’d have to redesign the food system to make that happen.

“Placing a duty on authorities to be able to feed all the public well in crises means civil food resilience becomes real. We cannot just trust to luck or big retailers to feed us in crises.

“Food resilience is a common good. Such a duty would mean food is taken as seriously as the energy system. If we can plan to keep the lights on, why not plan to keep people fed?”