In 2023/24, the average household in the United Kingdom spent around 70.5 British pounds a week on food and non-alcoholic drinks, compared with 80.9 pounds in 2001/02.

The statistic shows the average expenditure per person per week on food and drink in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2006 to 2022/23. In 2022/23, an average of 43.33 British pounds (GBP) was spent per person per week on food and drink purchases consumed both inside and outside of home.

The average for 2021 based on 165 countries was 105.854 index points. The highest value was in South Korea: 208.84 index points and the lowest value was in India: 58.17 index points. The indicator is available from 2017 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

As of January, Lily's Kitchen was estimated to be one of the most expensive dog food brands per kilogram in the United Kingdom. One kilogram of Lily's Kitchen Chicken, Duck and Sweet Potato Countryside Casserole Natural Grain Free Complete Adult Dry Dog Food would set customers back an approximate **** British pounds.

Average weekly household expenditure on goods and services in the UK. Data are shown by region, age, income (including equivalised) group (deciles and quintiles), economic status, socio-economic class, housing tenure, output area classification, urban and rural areas (Great Britain only), place of purchase and household composition.

In 2022/2023, on average 33.27 British pounds (GBP) were spent per person, per week on household food and drink purchases in the United Kingdom.

In 2022/23, the average weekly expenditure per person per week on food and drink consumed outside the home in the United Kingdom stood at ***** British pounds. While this was an increase over the previous year, it remained below the levels recorded before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when spending exceeded ** British pounds per person.

Background:
A household food consumption and expenditure survey has been conducted each year in Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) since 1940. At that time the National Food Survey (NFS) covered a sample drawn solely from urban working-class households, but this was extended to a fully demographically representative sample in 1950. From 1957 onwards the Family Expenditure Survey (FES) provided information on all household expenditure patterns including food expenditure, with the NFS providing more detailed information on food consumption and expenditure. The NFS was extended to cover Northern Ireland from 1996 onwards. In April 2001 these surveys were combined to form the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS), which completely replaced both series. From January 2008, the EFS became known as the Living Costs and Food (LCF) module of the Integrated Household Survey (IHS). As a consequence of this change, the questionnaire was altered to accommodate the insertion of a core set of questions, common to all of the separate modules which together comprised the IHS. Some of these core questions are simply questions which were previously asked in the same or a similar format on all of the IHS component surveys. For further information on the LCF questionnaire, see Volume A of the LCF 2008 User Guide, held with SN 6385. Further information about the LCF, including links to published reports based on the survey, may be found by searching for 'Living Costs and Food Survey' on the ONS website. Further information on the NFS and Living Costs and Food Module of the IHS can be found by searching for 'Family Food' on the GOV.UK website.

History:
The LCF (then EFS) was the result of more than two years' development work to bring together the FES and NFS; both survey series were well-established and important sources of information for government and the wider community, and had charted changes and patterns in spending and food consumption since the 1950s. Whilst the NFS and FES series are now finished, users should note that previous data from both series are still available from the UK Data Archive, under GNs 33071 (NFS) and 33057 (FES).

Purpose of the LCF
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has overall project management and financial responsibility for the LCF, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) sponsors the food data element. As with the FES and NFS, the LCF continues to be primarily used to provide information for the Retail Prices Index, National Accounts estimates of household expenditure, analysis of the effect of taxes and benefits, and trends in nutrition. The results are multi-purpose, however, providing an invaluable supply of economic and social data. The merger of the two surveys also brings benefits for users, as a single survey on food expenditure removes the difficulties of reconciling data from two sources. Design and methodology The design of the LCF is based on the old FES, although the use of new processing software by the data creators has resulted in a dataset which differs from the previous structure. The most significant change in terms of reporting expenditure, however, is the introduction of the European Standard Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP), in place of the codes previously used. An additional level of hierarchy has been developed to improve the mapping to the previous codes. The LCF was conducted on a financial year basis from 2001, then moved to a calendar year basis from January 2006 (to complement the IHS) until 2015-16, when the financial year survey was reinstated at the request of users. Therefore, whilst SN 5688 covers April 2005 - March 2006, SN 5986 covers January-December 2006. Subsequent years cover January-December until 2014. SN 8210 returns to the financial year survey and currently covers April 2015 - March 2016.

Northern Ireland sample
Users should note that, due to funding constraints, from January 2010 the Northern Ireland (NI) sample used for the LCF was reduced to a sample proportionate to the NI population relative to the UK.

Family Food database:
'Family Food' is an annual publication which provides detailed statistical information on purchased quantities, expenditure and nutrient intakes derived from both household and eating out food and drink. Data is collected for a sample of households in the United Kingdom using self-reported diaries of all purchases, including food eaten out, over a two week period. Where possible quantities are recorded in the diaries but otherwise estimated. Energy and nutrient intakes are calculated using standard nutrient composition data for each of some 500 types of food. Current estimates are based on data collected in the Family Food Module of the LCFS. Further information about the LCF food databases can be found on the GOV.UK Family Food Statistics web pages.

Secure Access version
A Secure Access version of the LCF from 2006 onwards is available from the UK Data Archive under SN 7047, subject to stringent access conditions. The Secure Access version includes variables that are not included in the standard End User Licence (EUL) version, including geographical variables with detail below Government Office Region, to postcode level; urban/rural area indicators; other sensitive variables; raw diary information files (derived variables are available in the EUL) and the family expenditure codes files. Users are strongly advised to check whether the EUL version is sufficient for their needs before considering an application for the Secure Access version.

Occupation data for 2021 and 2022 data files
The ONS have identified an issue with the collection of some occupational data in 2021 and 2022 data files in a number of their surveys. While they estimate any impacts will be small overall, this will affect the accuracy of the breakdowns of some detailed (four-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)) occupations, and data derived from them. None of ONS' headline statistics, other than those directly sourced from occupational data, are affected and you can continue to rely on their accuracy. For further information on this issue, please see: https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/occupationaldatainonssurveys.

Users who require the Family Food data should make sure to download the Access zip file alongside their desired format (SPSS, Stata or tab-delimited) of the ONS expenditure data.

March 2021: data errors identified

An error has been identified in the Living Cost and Food (LCF) Survey which has been found to impact the Family spending in the UK: April 2018 to March 2019 release. The biggest impact is on expenditure on transport (6% increase), specifically on loans or hire purchase of vehicles. To a lesser degree income (decrease of 2%) has also been affected. The overall impact is that average weekly household expenditure in the UK was underestimated by around 1%, while the interpretation of the statistics remains the same.

These errors were caused by a small number of questionnaire changes made in April 2018 not being reflected correctly in the LCF downstream processing systems. The release and datasets have now been corrected (see fourth edition statement below). ONS apologise for any inconvenience. Please contact Carla.kidd@ons.gov.uk for more information.

Latest edition information

For the fourth edition (May 2021), updated data and documentation files were deposited. An error had been identified which had been found to impact the Family Spending in the UK: April 2018 to March 2019 release, resulting in errors in transport expenditure and household expenditure. Full details of the issues are provided in the documentation (and above), and the errors have now been corrected.

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 128.8 points in September 2025. This represents an increase of 3.4 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. Food prices worldwide Some food commodities have been hit harder than others in the past years. Global dairy, meat, and vegetable oil prices were on an upward trajectory in the first half of 2025. Regionally, the European Union (EU) and the UK have experienced a particularly high increase in the annual consumer prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, as compared to other selected countries worldwide. Inflation in Europe The inflation rate for food in the EU grew from 0.2 percent in May 2021 to 19.2 percent in March 2023, as compared to the same month in the previous year. In the following months, the food inflation started decreasing again, yet has picked up again in 2025 in line with the global trend. The overall inflation rate in the Euro area reached its peak in December 2022 at 9.2 percent. The rate has since fallen to 2.4 percent in December 2024. As measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), inflation rates in Europe were highest in Turkey, Romania, and Estonia as of April 2025.

United Kingdom Weekly Household Exp: Avg: FD: Food: Fresh Vege: Root Crop data was reported at 1.400 GBP in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.400 GBP for 2015. United Kingdom Weekly Household Exp: Avg: FD: Food: Fresh Vege: Root Crop data is updated yearly, averaging 1.400 GBP from Dec 2006 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.500 GBP in 2014 and a record low of 1.200 GBP in 2007. United Kingdom Weekly Household Exp: Avg: FD: Food: Fresh Vege: Root Crop data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.H023: Average Weekly Household Expenditure.

In March 2025, the average food mixer import price amounted to $17.6 per unit, waning by -14.1% against the previous month.

United Kingdom Weekly Household Exp: Avg: FD: Food: Oth Tubers & Vege Pdts data was reported at 1.600 GBP in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.600 GBP for 2015. United Kingdom Weekly Household Exp: Avg: FD: Food: Oth Tubers & Vege Pdts data is updated yearly, averaging 1.500 GBP from Dec 2006 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.600 GBP in 2016 and a record low of 1.200 GBP in 2007. United Kingdom Weekly Household Exp: Avg: FD: Food: Oth Tubers & Vege Pdts data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.H023: Average Weekly Household Expenditure.