Food prices are a big worry for three-quarters of Britons, survey finds | Cost of living crisis

The cost of food is a big worry for the vast majority of Britons while the number of people who skip meals or use a food bank has jumped in the past year, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Its research shows food prices are a “major future concern” for more than three-quarters of UK consumers (76%), and the number using a food bank has risen from almost one in 10 in March 2021 to nearly one in six this March.

More than one in five (22%) of those surveyed in March said they skipped a meal or cut down the size of meals because they could not afford to buy food.

UK inflation reached 9% in April, the highest rate in more than 40 years, with the cost of food, energy and transport escalating, according to official figures.

Shop prices picked up further in May to reach the fastest rate in more than a decade, according to an industry survey that reveals the pressure on retailers to pass on the cost of rising energy bills and the soaring price of imports. Food inflation leapt to 4.3% in May from 3.5% in April, reaching the highest since April 2012, according to the British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ.

The FSA said it was working with businesses to ensure that donating their produce was as straightforward as possible, and to support those working in food banks and those using them to follow best practice for storage, preparation and cooking.

Prof Susan Jebb, who chairs the agency, said: “In the face of the immediate pressures on people struggling to buy food, food banks are playing a vital role in our communities.

“We are urgently working with industry and other major donors, and food bank charities, to look at what more we can do together to ensure that food which is safe to eat can be redistributed to people who can benefit from this support.”

The FSA, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the waste reduction organisation Wrap have published best practice surplus food redistribution guidance.

Marcus Gover, the chief executive of Wrap, said: “We support the FSA’s efforts to address the concerns many of us have around the cost of food. We estimate that more than 200,000 tonnes of surplus food could still be redistributed each year.

“So, by working together we can increase the redistribution of this food, which will also reduce the environmental impact of our food and help achieve a thriving UK food system for all.”