Almost 4 million children in the UK live in households that would struggle to afford to buy enough fruit, vegetables, fish and other healthy foods to meet the official nutrition guidelines, a groundbreaking food poverty study reveals.
The poorest fifth of families would have to set aside more than 40% of their total weekly income after housing costs to satisfy the requirements of the government’s Eatwell guide, the study finds.
The Food Foundation says its study is the first investigation into the extent to which typical UK households can afford to follow the guidelines. On official cost estimates, it calculates that a family of two adults and two children aged 10 and 15 would need to spend £103.17 a week on the food.
The official cost per adult of meeting the Eatwell guidelines is £41.93 a week. A household with two adults would need to spend £68.74 per week, the study calculates. A family of two adults and three children, aged two, five and eight, would need a weekly food budget of £111.35.
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Nearest tube: Elephant & Castle underground station (Northern and Bakerloo lines).
Nearest Railway Station: Elephant & Castle
Buses from Elephant and Castle: ask bus driver for Burgess Park. Bus numbers: 12, 171, 148, 176, 68, 484, 42, 40, 45