Cost of living: The areas most likely to struggle with access to affordable food

People living in areas of Birmingham and Liverpool are most likely to struggle with access to affordable food, according to new research.

Low income and a lack of large supermarkets and online shopping are making it more difficult for Britons to shop around and find healthy and affordable food to eat, according to data from Which?

The consumer watchdog, alongside the University of Leeds, has identified the places around the UK where households are most likely to be in need of extra support to put food on the table.

The Priority Places for Food Index has ranked local areas by the likelihood of people needing extra support.

Constituencies in Birmingham and Liverpool feature heavily at the top of the index. Just three of the top 20 worst affected regions are in Wales, with the remaining 17 in England – predominantly in the North East.

Birmingham Hodge Hill is considered the worst – with 100% of its local areas in need of extra support.

Which? found the area has poor online delivery access, high levels of fuel poverty and people in the area having a low income or no car access.

When Which? visited a food bank in the local area, volunteer David Fletcher said: “Where this food bank is, there’s no supermarket within two miles.”

Knowsley in Merseyside is the second highest ranking constituency for needing support according to the analysis, with low income, fuel poverty and an exceptionally high need for family food support in 96% of its local areas.

It also has relatively low levels of nearby supermarkets with half the number of large or very large supermarkets compared to the national average, indicating affordable food may be harder to find locally.

One local resident said “often cheaper products are unavailable with only more expensive options left” at their local supermarket.

The top five worst affected areas in England were: Birmingham Hodge Hill, Knowsley, Houghton and Sunderland South, Birmingham Northfield and Birmingham and Perry Barr.

Liz Truss’s constituency makes top 20

A number of the worst-affected constituencies have high-profile MPs on both sides of the divide attached to them.

South West Norfolk, the constituency of former prime minister Liz Truss, ranks 20th in England and 24th overall. In the constituency – which has a limited supermarket and non-supermarket retail provision – 70% of local areas are priority places.

Dehenna Davison, a minister for levelling up, is also the MP for Bishop Auckland, which ranks 11th in England and 12th overall.

Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow minister for education, represents Houghton and Sunderland South, which sits third on the list.

Of the top 20 regions across the UK, four are represented by Conservative MPs, with the rest Labour-held seats.

Areas at risk in Welsh Valleys

Overall, seven in 10 UK parliamentary constituencies have at least one area in need of urgent help accessing affordable food – but there are 16 constituencies across England and Wales for which at least three-quarters of the constituency are at risk.

In Wales, Which? found the highest concentration of areas at high risk during the food crisis were in the Valleys where proximity to a large supermarket or access to online deliveries may be very poor.

Wales has a higher proportion of rural places where accessing affordable food is an issue than England and Scotland.

The five worst-affected areas in Wales were Rhondda, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Cynon Valley and Neath.

In Scotland, the places in highest need of support were in the Central Belt, according but there is also a notable concentration in and around Dundee where there is relatively poor access to online food deliveries and people are more likely to be suffering from fuel poverty and on a low income.

The top five worst-affected regions in Scotland were North Ayrshire and Arran, West Dunbartonshire, Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Glasgow North East and Glenrothes.

Northern Ireland has the most even geographical spread of areas in need of support accessing affordable food. However, there is a noticeably greater concentration in parts of southwest Belfast and in and around Derry/Londonderry.

The five worst-affected areas in Northern Ireland were East Londonderry, Foyle, West Tyrone, North Antrim, Belfast West.

Calls for supermarkets to do more

The consumer group is calling on supermarkets to do more to support people through the crisis, by making sure food prices are easy to understand, with straightforward price reductions, and that budget lines consist of healthy choices.

Previous Which? research found most people have been forced to change their shopping habits, with millions skipping meals and turning to foodbanks to feed themselves.

Read more cost of living stories
Air fryer sales rocket by 3,000% as consumers seek to slash energy costs
Business secretary hints at autumn budget windfall tax expansion
Why you’ll likely see more money in your pay packet this month

Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which?, said: “Our new research tells us where around the UK support is most urgently needed.

“The supermarkets have the ability to take action and make a real difference to communities all around the UK. That’s why we’re calling on them to ensure everyone has easy access to budget food ranges that enable healthy choices, can easily compare the price of products to get the best value and that promotions are targeted at supporting people most in need.”

Michelle Morris, associate professor of nutrition and lifestyle analytics at the University of Leeds, said: “With so many people in the UK already suffering from food insecurity and the cost of living crisis making that much worse, we need to do all that we can to support those most in need to access affordable, healthy and sustainable foods.”