How bad is the food shortage in Britain really? Between September 22 and October 3, 2021, an average of ** percent of responding grocery shoppers experienced a shortage of essential food items. Over a fifth of all respondents experienced shortages of non-essential food items. The shortage of food items, brought on by a shortage of lorry drivers in the wake of Brexit, was worst in the North East and East Midlands, where ** percent of respondents experienced a shortage of essential items. Scotland had the highest share of responding consumers experiencing a shortage of other food items. By October the 17th the percentage of respondents experiencing shortages of essential food items in Britain had only declined by *** percent.

United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 2.500 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.600 % for 2021. United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 1.650 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2022, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.500 % in 2022 and a record low of 0.700 % in 2019. United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as severely food insecure. A household is classified as severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to several of the most severe experiences described in the FIES questions, such as to have been forced to reduce the quantity of the food, to have skipped meals, having gone hungry, or having to go for a whole day without eating because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

This project aimed to explore the impacts of Covid-19 on the food system in England. It was funded by the ESRC via the UKRI call for urgent Covid-19 research. The project convened an expert panel of industry and policy experts to share the impacts of Covid-19 on different parts of the food system. We interviewed those working in the industry. Our monthly bulletins highlighted both good practice and areas of concern as we work towards a resilient and fair food system in the crisis. A survey of food businesses in April-June 2021. The data comprises 164 responses to questionnaire survey. The survey explored the impacts of Covid and Brexit, and the adaptations businesses made in response.From panic buying to shortages, real or perceived, COVID-19 is leaving its mark on the food system. Whilst media attention has been on retail, the shock has also been felt in the food manufacture, processing, packaging and distribution sectors. In the first weeks of lock-down there have been cases of milk companies cancelling contracts with farmers but other companies have experienced increased demand from supermarket outlets. Fishermen have seen the demand for seafood from the restaurant trade in the UK and the EU dry up. Some are seeking to establish new retail outlets such as home delivery, others are reported not to be fishing. We need to know very rapidly how the supply chain for dairy, fish, flour, fruit and vegetables, and meat is adapting. Critically, what steps might be required to ensure food continues to reach shops and that there is fairness for food workers and for consumers? We will work with a panel of experts to gain and share information about food supplies, and we will interview those working in the industry. Our monthly bulletins will highlight both good practice and areas of concern as we work towards a resilient and fair food system in the crisis.

United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 5.700 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 4.100 % for 2021. United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 5.250 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2022, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.300 % in 2015 and a record low of 3.500 % in 2020. United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

In 2024/25, approximately 2.9 million emergency food parcels were distributed from Trussell Trust food banks in the United Kingdom, compared with 3.1 million in 2023/24. There has been a steep rise in food bank usage in the UK, with a threefold increase in the number of parcels distributed in 2023/24, compared with 2014/15. As of the most recent year, there were over 1,700 Trussell Trust food bank distribution centers in the UK, compared with 1,500 in 2018/19. Cost of Living crisis continues Since late 2021, UK households have had to grapple with a steep rise in the cost of living. This crisis appeared to have peaked in 2022, when around 90 percent of households were reporting monthly increases to their living costs, and inflation reached a 40-year high of 11.1 percent in October 2022. Although inflation subsequently came down and wages began to outpace inflation from 2023 onward, prices remain far higher than before the crisis began. Furthermore, the first half of 2025 has seen an uptick in inflation, which, although expected to subside towards the end of the year, has piled further misery on struggling UK households. Growing discontent with political mainstream After one year in power, the current Labour government is almost as unpopular as the Conservative government they replaced, which suffered one of their worst results in their history at the last election. To deal with the UK's precarious public finances without significant tax rises, Labour have attempted to make reforms to welfare, such as cutting the winter fuel allowances for all but the poorest pensioners. This cut in particular was so unpopular that Labour reinstated it for most pensioners, with further attempts at welfare reform also hitting a roadblock. These events, along with a stuttering economy, have seen Labour fall significantly at the polls, especially at the expense of the right-wing Reform Party, who have generally led the polls since the start of the year.

Whether people experienced shortage of goods such as food, medicine and fuel when shopping – indicators from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).

Estimates on the demographics and characteristics of sandwich carers as well as different aspects of their life, such as employment, health, satisfaction, finances, loneliness and food insecurity. Using data from Understanding Society, January 2021 to May 2023.

This research draws on interview-based research that took place between May and June 2021 to capture the experience of staff and volunteers at a London food co-op that set up a shopping service for vulnerable people at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as reflecting on the food co-op, what it is and their relationship to it, participants discuss the foundation of the shopping (shop and drop) service and their relationship to it. They also explore broader topics such as the wider impacts of COVID-19 on their own lives and life in the UK, their opinion on the governmental response to COVID-19, and their understanding of concepts such as mutual aid, cooperation and community, which became so prevalent during the pandemic.The financial crisis of 2008 and resultant period of austerity have had a significant impact on the nature of politics, the economy and the lives of everyday citizens in Britain. These political-economic shifts have informed and adjusted the ideals, practices and structures of community organising, raising questions about the nature of citizenship, grassroots political action and the structures of society in Britain today. The COVID-19 pandemic is further highlighting issues of inequality, while catalysing more community organising and network building. In the wake of Brexit, tensions around issues such as welfare, immigration and identity have also become increasingly polarising. This research takes an ethnographic approach to experiences of social and political-economic change, community-building and collective organising to offer a nuanced representation of life in contemporary Britain and the impacts of increasingly neoliberal policies on food and housing. Despite the fact that Britain is one of the richest countries in the world, more than 8 million people are suffering from food insecurity today (Lambie-Mumford 2017). Where food has historically been one of the biggest income expenditures, it now averages just 10-16% for the lowest income households in the UK (DEFRA 2017). The fact that many people in Britain are unable to afford to eat despite this reduction, highlights one of the stark realities of life in Britain. The country is also undergoing a severe housing crisis, which is felt most acutely in cities such as London (Minton 2017). While housing used to be more affordable than food, by the 1990s this had become the main cost for the average household (Hickman 2008; Cribb et al. 2012). This raises questions about how the social and financial value of food and housing and the levels of urgency attached to each impact on how people mobilise and organise around them today, whether as activists or humanitarians; and what structures, practices and ideologies they draw on. As part of my doctoral work I conducted two years of ethnographic research with grassroots, retail food co-ops in London. This focused on practices of politics, aid and care in the face of austerity and the growing humanitarian crisis around food. The Politics of Food and Housing in Changing Times aims to consolidate and disseminate my PhD findings, and draw out the issues around housing which were already present in the thesis. In order to further my understanding of housing issues and the forms of collective organising used in relation to them, I will build on my established networks and contacts in London to do two months of fieldwork with housing activists. I will develop a research funding proposal from this work which makes a theoretical contribution to the social sciences on food, housing, political economy, and creates impact for the groups involved. In addition to the production of this new research and proposal, key outputs for the fellowship will include: A monograph based on the PhD thesis that engages with public and social scientific debates on austerity, food and activism, therefore appealing to both academics and practitioners. Three research participant workshops for people and organisations that contributed to my doctoral work. A practitioner workshop on food access and sustainability. I will also present at two international conferences. The fellowship activities are designed to build on each other, benefitting my career progression, while also creating pathways to impact. Drawing on my existing networks in London, the South West and mainland Europe, they will engage academics and practitioners across a range of disciplinary and professional backgrounds to share experiences and findings and develop tools in relation to the politics of food and housing, sustainability, poverty alleviation, community-building and social cohesion; and to build on local and international networks in order to share resources and findings. Semi-structured online and telephone interviews with 6 participants of a London food co-op and covid shopping service (one coordinator and five volunteers). The researcher had previously conducted participants observation with the food co-op, and draws on knowledge from this as well as the changes in the project due to the pandemic to ask questions.

The UK inflation rate was 3.6 percent in June 2025, up from 3.4 percent in the previous month, and the fastest rate of inflation since January 2024. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the UK experienced seven months of double-digit inflation, which peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022. Due to this long period of high inflation, UK consumer prices have increased by over 20 percent in the last three years. As of the most recent month, prices were rising fastest in the communications sector, at 6.1 percent, but were falling in both the furniture and transport sectors, at -0.3 percent and -0.6 percent, respectively.
The Cost of Living Crisis High inflation is one of the main factors behind the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis in the UK, which, despite subsiding somewhat in 2024, is still impacting households going into 2025. In December 2024, for example, 56 percent of UK households reported their cost of living was increasing compared with the previous month, up from 45 percent in July, but far lower than at the height of the crisis in 2022. After global energy prices spiraled that year, the UK's energy price cap increased substantially. The cap, which limits what suppliers can charge consumers, reached 3,549 British pounds per year in October 2022, compared with 1,277 pounds a year earlier. Along with soaring food costs, high-energy bills have hit UK households hard, especially lower income ones that spend more of their earnings on housing costs. As a result of these factors, UK households experienced their biggest fall in living standards in decades in 2022/23. Global inflation crisis causes rapid surge in prices The UK's high inflation, and cost of living crisis in 2022 had its origins in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the initial waves of the virus, global supply chains struggled to meet the renewed demand for goods and services. Food and energy prices, which were already high, increased further in 2022. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought an end to the era of cheap gas flowing to European markets from Russia. The war also disrupted global food markets, as both Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of cereal crops. As a result of these factors, inflation surged across Europe and in other parts of the world, but typically declined in 2023, and approached more usual levels by 2024.

At the end of March and the beginning of April 2020, directly after COVID-19 hit Sweden, only ** percent of the companies in the supply, construction, and trade industries in Sweden experienced large problems with production due to delayed deliveries of components. Meanwhile, close to ** percent had small problems with deliveries and productions. However, in September 2021, things had changed significantly. Almost ** percent of the companies had large problems, around one third of them had small problems, and less than ** percent had no problems.

Reduced production and delivery capacity worldwide

After the outbreak of COVID-19 hit the world economy in 2020, there were problems both with the production of singular components such as microchips for cars and electronics, and delivery supply chains worldwide. Not only Sweden's economy was disrupted by this. In the fall of 2021, the United Kingdom experienced shortages of food and petrol.

Lorry drivers

One of the reasons for the lack of goods in the UK was a lack of lorry drivers due to COVID-19, Brexit, and tax changes. In Europe, the UK experienced the sharpest fall of truck drivers from 2016 to 2020 in absolute numbers, whereas Luxembourg had the highest relative fall. Romania, on the other hand, had the highest increase both in terms of number and percent. Sweden had a small, positive change during these four years.

In the three months to July 2025, there were approximately 718,000 job vacancies in the UK, the fewest number of job vacancies since April 2021. The number of job vacancies in the United Kingdom reached a record high of 1.3 million in the three months to May 2022, with the number of vacancies steadily falling since then. During the provided time period, the number of job vacancies fell to its lowest levels in the months leading to June 2020, at just 328,000, at the height of COVID-19 restrictions. Tight labor market beginning to loosen After weathering the economic storm of COVID-19, the UK labor market has been reasonably healthy since 2021. The unemployment rate, which reached 5.1 percent in late 2020, declined in the following months, to a post-pandemic low of 3.5 percent by August 2022. Since that point, however, the unemployment rate has crept up, and was 4.4 percent in November 2024. Resignations have also started to decline, after reaching a peak of 442,000 in the second quarter of 2022, there were just 181,000 in the third quarter of 2024. Which industries are experiencing staff shortages? The percentage of businesses reporting a staff shortage in the UK reached 15.7 percent in September 2022, before falling to just 9.7 percent by October 2023, another indication of a loosening labor market. According to data from that month, approximately 1 in 4 UK businesses in the accommodation and food services had a shortage of staff, the highest of any sector, followed by human health and social work at 18.4 percent, and manufacturing at 17.6 percent. Many of the recent struggles of Britain's National Health Service are directly related to staff shortages, with the public seeing a shortage of doctors and nurses, and overworked staff as some of the main problems facing the NHS.

Chad Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 36.400 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 35.800 % for 2021. Chad Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 36.400 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2022, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 39.700 % in 2018 and a record low of 32.400 % in 2015. Chad Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Chad – Table TD.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as severely food insecure. A household is classified as severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to several of the most severe experiences described in the FIES questions, such as to have been forced to reduce the quantity of the food, to have skipped meals, having gone hungry, or having to go for a whole day without eating because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

Bosnia and Herzegovina BA: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 2.800 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.100 % for 2021. Bosnia and Herzegovina BA: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 1.850 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2022, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.100 % in 2021 and a record low of 1.300 % in 2017. Bosnia and Herzegovina BA: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Bosnia and Herzegovina – Table BA.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as severely food insecure. A household is classified as severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to several of the most severe experiences described in the FIES questions, such as to have been forced to reduce the quantity of the food, to have skipped meals, having gone hungry, or having to go for a whole day without eating because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

Bangladesh BD: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 31.100 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 31.700 % for 2020. Bangladesh BD: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 31.700 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2021, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 32.200 % in 2015 and a record low of 31.100 % in 2021. Bangladesh BD: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Bangladesh – Table BD.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

Austria AT: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 4.300 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.300 % for 2020. Austria AT: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 4.300 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2021, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.500 % in 2015 and a record low of 3.000 % in 2019. Austria AT: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Austria – Table AT.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

Cameroon CM: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 26.700 % in 2021. This stayed constant from the previous number of 26.700 % for 2020. Cameroon CM: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 26.700 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2021, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28.200 % in 2017 and a record low of 22.300 % in 2015. Cameroon CM: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Cameroon – Table CM.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as severely food insecure. A household is classified as severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to several of the most severe experiences described in the FIES questions, such as to have been forced to reduce the quantity of the food, to have skipped meals, having gone hungry, or having to go for a whole day without eating because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

Afghanistan Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 79.100 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 70.100 % for 2020. Afghanistan Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 57.600 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2021, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 79.100 % in 2021 and a record low of 45.100 % in 2015. Afghanistan Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Afghanistan – Table AF.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

Burkina Faso BF: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 40.700 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 40.500 % for 2021. Burkina Faso BF: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 39.800 % from Dec 2017 (Median) to 2022, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 40.700 % in 2022 and a record low of 38.900 % in 2017. Burkina Faso BF: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Burkina Faso – Table BF.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

Cambodia KH: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 51.100 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 50.000 % for 2020. Cambodia KH: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 46.600 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2021, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 51.100 % in 2021 and a record low of 44.100 % in 2018. Cambodia KH: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Cambodia – Table KH.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

Togo TG: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 57.000 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 56.000 % for 2021. Togo TG: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 58.300 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2022, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 62.200 % in 2016 and a record low of 54.700 % in 2020. Togo TG: Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Togo – Table TG.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as moderately or severely food insecure. A household is classified as moderately or severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to low quality diets and might have been forced to also reduce the quantity of food they would normally eat because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;