Healthy diet requires 85% of disposable income for lower-income families

Struggling families have to spend 85% of their disposable income to achieve a healthy diet, a major new report has revealed.

The Broken Plate Report, published today by the Food Foundation, shows households with children in the lowest 20% of incomes are finding it increasingly difficult to feed their families with nutritious food.

It found the price gap between healthier and less healthy food was increasing and was now the widest it has been in over a decade.

Healthier food was nearly twice as expensive per calorie as less healthy alternatives, with HFSS foods the only food group to have seen a drop in price in the past year.

The report claims that since 2023 the price of healthier food has continued to increase, while the price of less healthy food has stabilised, with a slight decline in the past year.

The price gap between healthier and less healthy food grew by 27% between 2015 and 2025.

The Food Foundation worked with scientists from the The Institute of Metabolic Science (IMS) Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge using research linking Consumer Price Index data from the Office for National Statistics (2014-2025) with dietary data from the National Diet & Nutrition Survey.

Prices were calculated per 1,000 kilocalories for each item across quarterly and annual averages, allowing for comparison of foods within overall diets.

Meanwhile, items were classified as “more healthy” or “less healthy” using the government’s nutrient profiling model (NPM).

It found for an average household in the lowest income quintile, 49% of disposable income would be needed to afford the diet recommended in the Eatwell Guide in 2025 – a four percentage point increase from 2024.

But for the lowest-income households with children, that rose to 85%, up 15 percentage points from the previous year.

The Food Foundation said the report’s findings showed it would be a health disaster for the government to row back on its public health plans, including proposals to bring in a 2018 update of the NPM, which will reclassify thousands of products as HFSS.

Supermarket and manufacturing bosses have been calling for the plans to be ditched, amid fears over the impact of inflation from the conflict in Iran.

“The Broken Plate report reveals that it is becoming increasingly difficult for struggling families to afford and access a healthy diet,” said Food Foundation executive director Anna Taylor.

“This is despite promises from the government to create the healthiest generation of children ever and reduce child poverty. This isn’t good enough. The government must press ahead with its commitments made in the 10-Year Plan, including the mandatory reporting of healthy sales by food businesses.

“Recent reports implied the government is considering delays to the health measures it promised only a year ago. This would be a grave mistake given the state of the UK’s food system, and the poor health suffered by its citizens. The government must take bold action now to fulfil its promises and ensure everyone can access the healthy and sustainable diet they deserve.”

Recipe for Change, a coalition of 45 organisations led by Sustain, The Food Foundation and the Obesity Health Alliance, said the report reflected the aims in its recently launched Citizens’ Charter, which is urging the public to demand tougher action on the food industry to prioritise a shift to healthier food.

Sonia Pombo, head of research and impact at Action on Salt & Sugar, told The Grocer: “This new report lays bare the reality facing millions of families in that healthy food is increasingly unaffordable, while products high in fat, salt and sugar remain cheap, heavily promoted and far too widely available.

“When households with children on the lowest incomes need to spend 85% of their disposable income to afford a healthy diet, we cannot pretend this is simply about personal choice.

“The government must take action, including making healthy sales reporting mandatory and strengthening incentives for companies to sell healthier products.”

Kate Howard, children’s food campaign co-ordinator at Sustain, added: “The Broken Plate report is another stark reminder that voluntary action is not delivering the pace or scale of change needed.

“After years of industry pledges, there has still been far too little progress in reducing the salt, sugar and saturated fat in everyday food, or in making healthier options easy and affordable for families.”

Last month The Grocer revealed a landmark report by the British Nutrition Foundation was calling for supermarkets to commit to a structural shift in pricing to make healthy food cheaper than HFSS equivalents.

It claimed HFSS promotions still dominated the retail landscape despite the clampdown, and that promotions on healthier food had been patchwork and shown to lead to “short-lived effects” rather than long-term shifts in consumption.

Meanwhile, the government has confirmed it will publish its consultation on plans for mandatory reporting/targets within “the next few weeks”. There has been speculation over whether they have been shelved after the departure of Wes Streeting and inflationary fears caused by the war in Iran.

Natasha Burgon, director of health improvement at the DHSC, told the House of Commons health committee: “It is our clear intention to launch that consultation shortly.”