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Daily Mirror

National

Graham Hiscott & Graham Hiscott

Food inflation crisis will hit these 50 area of UK the hardest - see where yours ranks

United Kingdom Birmingham Which West Midlands England Glasgow Yorkshire

The 50 areas of the UK most at risk in the cost of food crisis have been identified by consumer group Which?

Using analysis, it highlighted the places where people were most likely to struggle to get affordable food.

In England, the North East was found to be the worst impacted region, with almost half (45%) of local areas in dire need of extra support.

On a local level, constituencies in Birmingham and Liverpool feature heavily.

Birmingham Hodge Hill was considered the worst, as 100% of its local areas are in need of extra help.

It came as Which? called on supermarkets to sign up to a 10-point plan to help households through the cost-of-living crisis.

Constituencies in Birmingham and Liverpool feature heavily (Liverpool Echo)

The group said supermarkets needed to “do more” to help customers by ensuring shelf prices are easy to understand, making healthy budget lines widely available and providing targeted promotions to support people in areas that are struggling the most.

Factors such as low income, poor access to affordable food, having no large supermarkets nearby and a lack of online shopping deliveries contributed to making it difficult for people to find healthy and affordable food, Which? warned.

It has drawn up a ‘Priority Places for Food Index’ with Leeds University ranking local areas according to the likelihood of people needing support to access affordable and healthy food.

The group said supermarkets needed to “do more” (AFP via Getty Images)

The North East was the region worst impacted due to a tendency to have relatively poor access to online shopping deliveries, a worse than average proximity to supermarkets and higher need for family food support such as food banks, eligibility of free school meals and take up of healthy start vouchers.

After Birmingham Hodge Hill, Knowsley in Merseyside was the second highest-ranking constituency for needing support because of low incomes, fuel poverty and an “exceptionally high need” for family food support.

The worst impacted area of Scotland was found to be North Ayrshire and Arran, in Wales Rhondda, and in Northern Ireland it was East Londonderry.

Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said: “We know that millions of people are skipping meals through the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades but our new research tells us where around the UK support is most urgently needed.

“The supermarkets have the ability to take action and make a real difference to communities all around the UK.

“That’s why we’re calling on them to ensure everyone has easy access to budget food ranges that enable healthy choices, can easily compare the price of products to get the best value and that promotions are targeted at supporting people most in need.”

Michelle Morris, associate professor of nutrition and lifestyle analytics at the University of Leeds, said: “With so many people in the UK already suffering from food insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis making that much worse, we need to do all that we can to support those most in need to access affordable, healthy and sustainable foods.”