FSA consumer survey shows around one in four people are still food insecure

The Wave 8 report, published today, reveals 24% of participants across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have reported being ‘food insecure’, which means having limited or uncertain access to adequate food.  

Levels of food insecurity had risen gradually in recent years, from 15% in Wave 3 (April-June 2021), up to 25% in Wave 6 (October 2022-January 2023) and Wave 7 (April-July 2023).  

Wave 8 has also revealed that younger adults, those who are long-term unemployed, households with a lower income, households with children, and those with long-term health conditions are among the groups more likely to report food insecurity. Furthermore, 4% of respondents report their household has used a food bank or an emergency food provider in the past 12 months. 

The latest wave of the survey has also showed that 79% of respondents raised no concerns about the food they eat. However, when respondents were prompted to choose from a list of food-related topics, the most common concerns were food prices (69%), the quality of food (65%), food waste (63%), and the amount of sugar in food (58%). 

FSA Interim Chief Executive, Katie Pettifer, said:

“Food and You 2 provides the FSA, and the wider Government, with robust data on what people think and do when it comes to food. It is concerning that we are still seeing high levels of food insecurity, and we will continue to monitor this. 

“The experiences people are reporting to us are vitally important to the FSA's work to protect public health and consumers’ wider interests in relation to food. We will continue to share our advice on food.gov.uk to help people make their food go further while staying safe.” 

Other notable findings in the report include:  

• 90% of respondents reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat. 
• 72% of respondents who had at least some knowledge of the FSA reported that they trusted the FSA to make sure ‘food is safe and what it says it is’.   
• 72% of respondents reported they had confidence in the food supply chain. 
• The most common changes to eating habits reported by respondents were that they had eaten less processed food (43%) and started minimising food waste (38%).   

About the report: 

Fieldwork for Food and You 2: Wave 8 was conducted between 12th October 2023 and 8th January 2024. A total of 5,808 adults from 4,006 households across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland took part. For the first time, the fieldwork was expanded to include Scotland, and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) will be reporting on these findings separately later this year.   

The Food and You 2 survey is an official statistic and measures self-reported knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food topics.  

The FSA’s Home Food Fact Checker has tips for consumers on how to help make food go further and stay safe.  

Read the research     

The full Wave 8 report is available in the research section of our website.