S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
S TAT E O F T H E N AT I O N ’ S P L AT E
How COVID-19 restrictions are changing how we eat
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
W H AT H A S C H A N G E D ? The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally challenged and changed how we buy, cook and eat our food across the UK. For the first time since the Second World War, UK-wide food shortages have loomed large in the public imagination. In a country where we are accustomed to the convenience and abundance offered by large retailers, it has been a shock to find reduced and restricted stock of staples such as tomatoes, pasta and eggs. Many households are used to a combination of lunches on the go, using takeaway food to fill gaps or take a break from cooking, eating out regularly and relying on school meals. With much of the working population at home and schools closed, most households are now under pressure to cook every meal, with a predicted 500m additional meals being consumed at home every week.1 In the initial surge of stocking up on household essentials to bridge the gap left by meals out of home, retailers struggled to restock staples, leading to fears of long-term shortages. Supply has stabilised at the time of writing, and retailers on the whole are working hard to keep stores well stocked and safe to use. Supermarkets are sharing staff, depots and data following a temporary relaxation of competition rules. However, a great number of vulnerable households – whether due to lower income, isolation or both – have been become food insecure or have been pushed to a new extreme of food insecurity. Research undertaken by the Food Foundation in late March reported that three million people in Britain have gone hungry since the beginning of the crisis.2 Many people and households are also experiencing new stressors such as juggling childcare and work, lack of personal time and space, job insecurity, managing on a reduced budget, and the general fear and uncertainty created by a global health crisis.
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
Food for thought
S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
Fears about food
90% of respondents said their shopping or cooking habits have changed since lockdown
In the midst of these concerns, we undertook national polling in partnership with CensusWide to try and understand how people are thinking and feeling about food during this time. Through a nationally representative sample of just over 2000 adults, we aimed to capture any changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, practices and behaviours around food, and to understand whether these changes are likely to endure when we return to normal, or, more likely, a new normal. When we asked whether respondents’ shopping or cooking habits have changed since the lockdown started, 90% said that they had. That in itself represents a profound change. What follows is a short summary of the findings, with a set of implications and recommendations. The full dataset is available upon request.3
Overall, a quarter of people said that
We found that the general sense of worry being experienced across the population is reflected in attitudes to food. Our survey found that 45% are more worried about food than they were before the lockdown began, and 43% are specifically worried about the extra cost of providing food for their household. This rises to 59% of those aged 35-44 and 54% of those aged 25-34, likely reflecting more family members to feed amongst households with children at home, less in the way of personal savings and/or households paying high rent or mortgage repayments.
they have found preparing more daily meals to be exhausting, and this rises to 40% amongst the 16-24 age group. 36% admitted to comfort-eating more during the lockdown to deal with anxiety or boredom (40% for 16-24-year-olds) and almost a third (31%) said that they are not eating as much fresh fruit and veg as usual due to avoiding shops as much as possible.
31% said that they are not eating as much fresh fruit and veg as usual due to avoiding shops as much as possible
43% are specifically worried about the extra cost of providing food for their household 7% said that they have had to use a food bank for the first time since the restrictions began, rising to 15% of those aged 16-24 and 14% of those aged 25-34.
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
What shortages have the public noticed?
Food item
Percentage
Dried starches such as rice and pasta
48%
Eggs
45%
Flour
44%
Tinned vegetables i.e. tomatoes, sweetcorn
37%
Fresh meat
27%
Dairy produce
26%
Fresh veg
23%
Fresh fruit
22%
Freezer veg
18%
Ready meals
12%
Pizzas
11%
Other
6%
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
Eating better Many people are also learning to socialise using food online, with 40% of those aged 16-24 having had a virtual meal over video link (Zoom, Skype, Facetime etc.) for the first time.
While many are struggling at present to make ends meet, or access a reliable source of food, there are positives emerging in how people are cooking and eating. The survey found a strong sense that many are valuing, and even enjoying, their food more in recent weeks.
47% of those aged 16-24 see lockdown as an opportunity to improve their cooking skills
More than half of people (57%) say they value food more since the restrictions started, with 43% saying they are also enjoying their food more and 44% said that they are enjoying cooking more since the restrictions began. Almost half (47%) said that they are enjoying spending more time eating with their family or housemates.
57% say they value food more since the restrictions started Young people in particular are keen to learn to cook more, with almost half (47%) of those aged 16-24 seeing lockdown as an opportunity to improve their cooking skills, compared with a national average of 34%.
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
Shopping and buying habits Questions around shopping for and buying food also returned a hugely mixed experience. More than a quarter (26%) said that they are buying better quality food as they are not going out or spending money on other things.
34% said that they are supporting smaller/ local businesses more than ever before
While more than a third (34%) said that they are supporting smaller/ local businesses more than ever before, 43% say they are buying fewer takeaways as they are worried about contamination. A further 42% say they are not buying takeaways because money is tight. 29% said they were using their local corner shop/ convenience store for the first time.
and only 6% say they are throwing away more. Of those wasting less, half (51%) said that they are planning meals more carefully and 41% are using their leftovers more. 35% said that they are using their freezer more and 29% freezing a wider variety of foods. Portion control is also a factor, with 27% now giving more accurate portion sizes and 1 in 4 are leaving less on the plate.
The majority (89%) of those who’ve made changes to how they shop say they will continue to use at least one of the new shopping alternatives to supermarkets once the restrictions have ended.
One in six said that they are paying less attention to date labels and eating food that ‘is out of date.’ No distinction was given between food that is past its ‘Use-by’ date or ‘Best before’ date.
Waste not Suggestions that a surge in panic buying would lead to an increase in domestic food waste levels appear to be unfounded. Almost half of people (48%) said they are throwing away less food since the restrictions began
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48% said they are throwing away less food since the restrictions began
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
LIFE AFTER LOCKDOWN What will the legacy be?
Will new habits endure post-lockdown?
Currently doing
Planning to continue once restrictions lift
Shopping less frequently
44%
25%
Planning meals more carefully
35%
30%
Using up food that had been sitting in the cupboard for a long time
33%
25%
Using my freezer more
30%
20%
Buying foods with a longer shelf life
24%
17%
Eating more leftovers
23%
19%
Cooking new things
22%
17%
Freezing new things
18%
13%
Shopping more online
16%
10%
Batch cooking
16%
12%
Growing food for the first time
5%
4%
Composting for the first time
4%
3%
Shopping/cooking habit
Worries about food are unlikely to diminish when the restrictions lift, and many households may face economic hardship for months, or even years, post lockdown. Amongst those who aren’t facing economic challenges, there may well be the wish to improve their knowledge and upskill around food, so that they are able to cope with shortages and disruption to supplies in the future. We asked respondents which specific food related skills they would like to have.
45% of people would like to have more skills in growing food.
S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
41% of people overall said that they would like to have more skills in preserving food.
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34% said that they see lockdown as an opportunity to improve their cooking skills, rising to 47% of those aged 16-24.
We asked what food saving habits and behaviours people have adopted, and also whether they plan to continue with new habits when the lockdown ends.
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
I M P L I C AT I O N S An appetite for change? In the current complex situation, households across the country are looking for information on how to cook, eat and manage their food, in completely unprecedented circumstances. The public, private and not-for-profit sectors all have a role to play in responding.
Retailers vulnerable within their communities do not fall through the cracks.
Retailers continue to be a trusted source of information on food and have a responsibility to help people make the most of their food and access a nutritious diet. They can do this through clear, practical advice made available on their web and social media platforms, as well as information available in store such as simple posters and signposting for customers who are not online.
We urge retailers to continue supporting redistribution of surplus, and to prioritise making healthy and nutritious food (not only surplus stock) available to those distributing food to vulnerable homes. Smaller and independent retailers who have remained open are playing a crucial role in supplementing household larders, and are delivering and selling food in new and novel ways that may provide a shot in the arm to the high street and communities beyond this crisis.
NGOs, local authorities and community groups working on food and beyond have demonstrated incredible dedication to getting food to the most vulnerable during this period of hardship. Retail partnerships with groups such as FareShare and Neighbourly have been instrumental to this support. At the same time, many community groups have been forced to self-organise to ensure that the
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
Government
Local authorities
We support the recent calls by the Food Foundation and Sustain Alliance for government to support local authorities to significantly scale up welfare assistance schemes and provide nutritious food parcels for people who are self-isolating, and abolish the five-week wait for Universal Credit so that people can buy the food they need to stay healthy at home.
The respondents to our survey reported a reduction in and heightened awareness of food waste, which poses an opportunity for local authorities to support and reinforce those behaviours during and beyond the crisis. Creative campaigns reinforcing the money saving benefits to households of reducing their food waste may particularly resonate as we emerge from current restrictions.
Charity sector The current crisis has highlighted a concerning level of vulnerability to food insecurity across the population due to a range of diverse factors, primarily lower incomes and limited access to social safety nets. Younger cohorts who tend to have weaker cooking skills and lower knowledge of how to save and store food, have demonstrated a huge interest in learning to cook and make their food go further in the current crisis.
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The community and not for profit sector can build on these gaps by prioritising free/affordable and accessible classes and information on cooking and managing food, across a range of formats to suit different audiences.
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S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
S T A T E O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S P L A T E | How COVID-19 restrictions are changing the way we eat
ABOUT HUBBUB Hubbub is an award-winning charity that inspires ways of living that are good for the environment. We have transformed the approach people take towards communicating environmental issues and since 2014 they have built collaborations with over 700 organisations, from international businesses to local authorities and community groups. We run a number of campaigns to reduce food waste and help people make the most of their food, such as Food Savvy, Kitchen Love and the national Community Fridge Network. Many members of the CFN are delivering running community-based food services to households affected by the COVID-19 crisis. We also delivered IKEA’s ‘Live LAGOM’, the world’s biggest consumer sustainable behaviour change campaign and created Mothercare’s ‘Gift A Bundle’ campaign, redistributing good quality outgrown baby clothing.
We’ve enabled people to:
Prevent 780 tonnes of food from being wasted.
Get growing in London, no matter what space they have through 10,000 Give It A Grow kits.
Recycle over 1 million single use coffee cups.
W W W. H U B B U B .O R G .U K
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Inspiring ways of living that are good for the environment HELLO@HUBBUB.ORG.UK
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