Huge imbalances across the food system leaving poorest behind - new report

Sustain member The Food Foundation have just published the 2026 Broken Plate report.

Their flagship publication documents the health of the UK's food system, how it shapes our lives, and what must change to make healthy, sustainable diets available and affordable to everyone.

This year's report features 16 key metrics - including several new ones - which together highlight the profound impact the food environment is having on people and the planet.

Key findings include:

• Households in the lowest income fifth of the population would need to spend 85% on food to afford the government-recommended healthy diet.

 

• Affluent areas have ample food choices, while poorer areas are often left behind, with fresh produce and healthy food hard to find.

 

• The price gap between healthier and less healthy food is increasing and is now the widest it has been in over a decade.

The report also shows much of our protein comes from unsustainable sources which have high greenhouse gas emissions, rather than healthy and sustainable sources.

Meanwhile fruit and vegetables only account for 3% of traditional advertising food and non-alcoholic drink expenditure, compared to at least 29% for unhealthy foods.

Read Broken Plate 2026