Rising food insecurity levels lead to calls for 'Good Food Bill' to protect citizens from next cost of living crisis

New data shows food insecurity levels rising in the UK, as calls grow for a 'Good Food Bill' to protect citizens from next cost of living crisis 

New data released today from The Food Foundation shows:

• Food insecurity in the UK has increased in the last 6 months⁽¹⁾
• 12% of UK households experienced food insecurity in January 2026, which includes 6.3 million adults⁽²⁾(up from 11% in June 2025)
• 15% of households with children experienced food insecurity in January 2026, which amounts to 2.2 million children in the UK
• 53% of food insecure households cut back on fruit, and 40% on veg in the past 30 days. For those not food insecure, this was 10% and 5.1% respectively
• Households with food insecurity visit a GP more often than households without food insecurity
• Households with four or more GP appointments in a month are twice as likely to be food insecure than food secure
• Food insecure households nearly twice as likely to report having 3+ GP appointments than food secure households
• Calls grow for government to introduce a ‘Good Food Bill’ to protect citizens from food price shocks

The Food Foundation, has today published data (supplied by YouGov and independently analysed) which shows that food insecurity is increasing in the UK. Food insecurity levels peaked during the height of the cost of living crisis in 2022. Since then, levels have remained stubbornly high, though they had been slowly decreasing.

New data gathered in January, however, shows that food insecurity rates are creeping up once again. The cost of living crisis, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the aftermath of the global Covid19 pandemic, exposed how dependent the UK’s food system is on the cost of energy.

With fears growing over what a drawn out war in Iran could mean for food prices and food insecurity levels due to increasing oil prices and a limited supply of fertiliser, it is more important now than ever that the government take action to ensure food security in the UK is guaranteed, and that struggling families, already pushed to the brink, can afford the basic diet needed to keep them healthy.

Previous research from The Food Foundation shows that healthier foods cost more than twice as much per calorie as less healthy options, and that among the poorest fifth of the population, households with children would need to spend 70% of their disposable income on food to meet the cost of the Government-recommended healthy diet.

The Food Foundation’s Basic Basket Tracker also shows that the price of a typical shopping basket is 33% higher than it was in April 2022. While the rate of increase slowed in late 2024, prices have been rising more steeply over the past year, particularly in line with food inflation starting to overtake overall inflation again in early 2025.

Meanwhile, British growers continue to go out of business: domestic fruit and vegetable production has fallen 16% since 2015, deepening the import dependency (now 65% of fruit and vegetables and 40% of all food) that makes us so vulnerable to global conflicts, and changing weather patterns.

According to the ONS, countries with stronger domestic production, like Spain and Italy, experienced lower food price increases during the recent cost of living crisis. Plus, at least half of the UK’s imported fruit and vegetables currently come from countries already facing extreme water scarcity.

In a new report, published alongside food insecurity stats today, The Food Foundation, Sustain and Green Alliance are calling for a ‘Good Food Bill’ that would provide a legal framework to protect citizens, farmers and food businesses from food system shocks and tackle some of the issues that are deeply entrenched in our food system.

This follows a joint statement from over 100 retailers, businesses, investors, NGOs, and academics calling for new ‘Good Food Bill’ that was published last month. We also know 69% of people think the UK Government should be doing more to ensure everyone can afford and access healthy food.

The report details that a Food Bill could reshape the food system over the long term to ensure that affordable, healthy, and sustainable food is accessible for everyone, and secure a domestic supply of nutritious food, that is resilient to shocks. This would deliver the food strategy outcomes set out in the Government’s Good Food Cycle and ensure the failures exposed by the cost of living crisis are never repeated.

The report states that the Good Food Bill should:

• Include three legally binding targets:
  - Reduction in childhood obesity, and reducing the gap between the richest and poorest children – by 2050
  - Increase in the national average consumption of fruit and veg among children and an increase in the proportion of the fruit and veg supply which is produced in Britain - by 2040 
  - Reduction in household food insecurity as measured by DWP– by 2035
• Set a definition for a ‘healthy and sustainable diet.’ This would ensure school meals, hospital food, food industry restrictions, and public sector procurement all work towards the same nutritional goals, and that agricultural policy supports farmers to produce more nutritious foods we actually need people to eat
• Place a duty on government to publish a Good Food Action Plan every 5 years
• Enforce cross-departmental working from government
• Place a duty on local authorities to play a role in strengthening the resilience of food systems
• Include independent monitoring of progress from the Food Standards Agency – working closely with the Climate Change Committee, Office for Environmental Protection and National Protective Security Authority

With the next King’s Speech approaching in May, now is the prime opportunity to commit to a White Paper as a precursor to a ‘Good Food Bill’ to lock in the government’s ambition for a healthier, more resilient, sustainable food system.

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.

"From energy markets in the Middle East to global fertiliser and shipping routes, our food supply is now tightly bound to geopolitical events we cannot control. The cost of living crisis already exposed how fragile this system is. Families felt it at the checkout, farmers felt it on their balance sheets, and food banks felt it in record demand.

"What we are seeing today is not a one-off crisis - it is a warning. Decades without a coherent, statutory framework for food policy have left the system fragmented, heavily import-dependent, and failing on multiple fronts: rising childhood obesity, farmers leaving the land, and growing insecurity for millions of households.

"Short-term firefighting won’t fix this. It’s like trying to patch a sinking ship while the storm is still building. 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.

"We should act now, before the next shock hits. Because every time we delay, the cost grows — for families, for farmers, and for the country as a whole."

Tim Lang, Professor Emeritus of Food Policy, Centre for Food Policy, 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?"

Kath Dalmeny, Chief Executive of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, said: "Too many people in the UK are struggling to afford their shopping bill. Without a fundamental shift in the way we plan things as a country, that is only going to get worse.

"Our current food system is totally out of date, and is over reliant on cheap processed food imported from overseas. It is failing British farmers and growers, it is failing our health, and it is failing to keep shopping bills down.

"We need to build a 21st Century food economy where fresh, nutritious food is grown closer to home and within reach of every neighbourhood. By growing and producing more in the UK, we can cushion the blow to our shopping bills from pandemics, wars and climate shocks.

"New legislation on food would set a strong course for successive Governments to build a food system that keeps people healthy and keeps food affordable. The food system has simply got to change – and a Good Food Bill is how we change it."

FOOTNOTES

1. The Food Foundation asked three questions to assess whether people are food insecure. If they answer yes to any of the three questions, they are classified as food insecure: In the past month, have you/anyone else in your household: Had smaller meals than usual or skipped meals because you couldn’t afford or get access to food? Ever been hungry but not eaten because you couldn’t afford or get access to food? Not eaten for a whole day because you couldn’t afford or get access to food
2. As part of The Food Foundation’s regular Food Insecurity Tracking programme we commissioned YouGov to conduct a survey of 6044 adults in the UK between 23rd January - 3rd February 2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults 18+. The figures presented from the online survey have been analysed independently by The Food Foundation and Genevieve Hadida, Research Fellow in Food Systems, Health & Sustainability at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.  

NOTES TO EDITORS

Please contact: Juliet Grant, Senior Communications Manager, The Food Foundation, on 07929 075489 or email juliet.grant@foodfoundation.org.uk

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation 

Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy, The Food Foundation 

Kath Dalmeny, Chief Executive, Sustain

Glen Tarman, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Sustain

Lydia Collas, Head of Natural Environment, Green Alliance

SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: @Food_Foundation  
Instagram: food.foundation  
LinkedIn: The Food Foundation
Bluesky: The Food Foundation
TikTok: thefoodfoundation
YouTube: @foodfoundation91

About The Food Foundation
The Food Foundation is a charity working to influence food policy and business practice, shaping a sustainable food system which makes healthy diets affordable and accessible for all. We work in partnership with researchers, campaigners, community bodies, industry, investors, government and citizens to galvanise the UK’s diverse agents of change, using surprising and inventive ideas to drive fundamental shifts in our food system. These efforts are based on the continual re-evaluation of opportunities for action, building and synthesising strong evidence, convening powerful coalitions, harnessing citizens’ voices and delivering impactful communications.
Registered Charity Number 1187611.

About Sustain
Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, is a powerful alliance of over 100 organisations working together for a better system of food and farming. Sustain campaigns for food and agriculture policies which are publicly accountable and socially and environmentally responsible. For further information and quotes email press@sustainweb.org or visit us at https://www.sustainweb.org/

About Green Alliance 
Green Alliance is an independent think tank and charity focused on ambitious leadership for the environment. Since 1979, we have been working with the most influential leaders in business, NGOs and politics to accelerate political action and create transformative policy for a green, equitable and prosperous UK.