Who’s Really Paying the Price for Healthy Food?
All that good stuff—fruit, veg, and whole‑grain goodies—has turned into a pricey reality check for families on the budget side of the UK. A fresh report from The Food Foundation (together with the Questionmark Foundation) took a deep dive into what’s actually on shelves in big chains like Aldi, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s.
What the Numbers Say
- 14 % of the cheapest fruit & veg had hidden sugar or salt. Little red flags in the form of “additives” that kids shouldn’t be eating in bulk.
- “Baked beans, tinned peas and tomato sauces” popped up as sleep‑walkers in the salt‑sugar game.
- Less than £14 gets you a full week’s worth of 35 portions for one person. Fruit is double the cost of veg (19p vs 10p per portion) – that’s the crunch.
- The poorest 10 % of households spend a sweet £25 a week on food. Buying the lowest‑priced produce slices that budget into 34‑52 % of a weekly food bill—trying to hit the 5‑A‑Day crown is a tough club to join.
- High‑income families pay the same items but only 17‑26 % of their budget, meaning the gap is as wide as a highway.
Availability, or the Lack Thereof
- A round of store visits by Food Foundation’s team & “Young Food Ambassadors” showed that 60 % of shops stocked five or fewer of the top‑10 cheapest fruit & veg.
- In the smaller “express” outlets, the average drop to just four low‑cost items.
- Wholegrain is a distant dream: only 16 % of everything is whole wheat, brown, or a 50:50 mix. Professionals say the price for these higher‑grade carbs can be a whopping 77p more per 100g of brown rice than the white counterpart.
- Surveys reveal that 95 % of adults miss the mark on wholegrains, and barely 9 % hit recommended fibre intake.
Why It Matters
Rebecca Tobi, Senior Business & Investor Engagement Manager, reminds us that fruit, veg & wholegrain are the bedrock of health. Yet, the market leaves many families locked out of the best choices.
“The healthiest options usually aren’t the most affordable or accessible,” she says. “If the Ministry of Well‑Being isn’t factoring healthy meals into benefits, we’re setting everyone else up to fail.”
Touch‑Ground Perspective from a Food Ambassador
Rise, a 15‑year‑old from Halifax, walked the aisles with her app, testing the cheapest items online versus what she could actually find. Her words cut straight to the heart:
“Everyone deserves the nutrients packed in fruit, veg, and whole grains. We can’t let price tags keep healthy choices out of reach, especially when budgets are tight.”
She urges policymakers and communities to break this cycle, making nutritious foods both affordable and easily available.
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