Fast food, slow progress

NATIONALLY, we’re not eating enough fruit and veg.

Just a third of adults, and 12% of children, eat their five-a-day.

Consumption of food high in fat, salt and sugar runs high, especially among families with young children. Research shows many people see healthy eating as incompatible with a busy life, and increasingly unaffordable.

These were the conclusions presented at a Food Foundation event I hosted recently in Parliament.

With food price inflation soaring to 19%, the cost of buying fresh produce and cooking nutritious meals quickly adds up, something which junk food manufacturers and supermarkets have capitalised on.

It’s not helped by the fact that the Government continues to let junk food manufacturers off the hook. Plans to ban junk food special-offers and to limit fast-food TV ads before the 9pm watershed have now been shelved until 2025.

This is despite warnings from the Government’s own Food Tsar, Henry Dimbleby, that poor diets contribute to 64,000 deaths per year in England alone – costing the economy an estimated £74 billion.

I’ve worked closely with Henry, whose National Food Strategy, published in 2021, included innovative ideas to combat dietrelated illness and to break the ‘junk food cycle.’ (His new book 'Ravenous' is also worth a read.) He has now resigned from his post in despair.

While it’s important to tackle unhealthy eating, it’s also crucial to focus on positive, proactive measures to encourage people to eat more fresh food.

I’ve been calling on the Government to improve access to Healthy Start vouchers, a safety net payment for pregnant mothers, babies and children under 4 experiencing food insecurity.

These give qualifying families an extra £4.25 per week towards buying essential healthy food. Last year 1,600 Bristol families missed out on more than half a million pounds worth of free fruit, vegetables and milk. Complications in the application process and a lack of awareness of the scheme meant that many didn’t even know they were entitled to it.

The Government must support local councils to promote the scheme and expand eligibility, so more families can benefit.

Supermarkets can also go further in offering deals on healthy food, and schools should be incentivised to serve children more fruit and veg.

We also need to support local food-growing, replicating the brilliant work being done at projects like Grow Wilder in Frenchay.

There’s much to be gained in involving communities in growing their own food, from the nutritional benefits to the sense of pride in growing veg from seed to plate.

Changing a nation’s food habits isn’t an easy job, but the consequences of Government inaction will be with us for years to come if we don’t.