Government data, released last week, shows that the percentage of adults eating their ‘5 a day’ remains at an all time low. Only 31% of adults regularly eat the recommended five portions of fruit & veg a day, down from 35% in 2020. This is the third year in a row that these figures have stagnated.  

Fruit & veg are the essential building blocks of good physical and mental health. But when healthy options are out of reach, people are more likely to rely on cheap, energy dense foods to keep themselves and their families full. These foods tend to be higher in fat, sugar and salt, increasing the risk of food-related ill health such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and poor mental health outcomes.

This latest data comes at a worrying time, as current global events risk triggering a third food price shock since 2020, further driving up the cost of healthy food and exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis. The effects of this are already being felt, with the latest research from the Food Foundation finding that 53% of food insecure households are cutting back on fruit and 40% on veg. For many, eating a healthy diet is not a matter of knowledge or motivation, it’s a financial impossibility.

Corin Bell, CEO at Alexandra Rose said:

“This data affirms what we hear every day: that there are structural barriers, which prevent people from eating a healthy balanced diet. We are already facing a crisis of food-related ill health, with the NHS at breaking point.

It is not enough to ensure people are fed. Without addressing affordability and access to healthy food, the Government’s cost-of-living response risks entrenching a system in which the most disadvantaged communities continue to experience the worst health outcomes. This will only drive higher public spending in the long term and widen existing health inequalities. Prioritising nutrition and access to healthy food, such as fruit & veg, must be central to any meaningful cost-of-living response.”

Despite rising food prices and data from the Food Foundation that clearly demonstrates the decline in fruit and vegetable consumption for households living on low incomes, there was nothing in the King’s Speech regarding food policy.

If the UK Government is genuinely committed to taking a preventative approach to healthcare, it must address the systemic barriers that put healthy food out of reach for so many people.