What is food insecurity
Food insecurity is defined by the United Nations as "limited access to food... due to a lack of money or other resources” (FAO UN, 2017).
Low food security means that the household reduces the quality, variety, and desirability of their diets.
Very low food security means that household members sometimes disrupt eating patterns or reduce food intake because they lack money or other resources.
Food insecurity affects the most vulnerable groups of people. The rising cost of living has reduced the affordability of goods and services bought by households, leading more people to make difficult choices between buying healthy food and paying bills.
In some cases, they are unable to switch to cheaper food because they are already buying the lowest-cost food items, so they end up eating less. Sometimes, this leads people to access food aid through food banks, affordable food models, and community cafes.
Food insecurity is associated with poor diets and can negatively impact physical and mental health outcomes.
The City-Wide Food Aid Count
In recent years, we have collaborated with the Food Justice Network to run the City-Wide Food Aid Count, in which we asked all food banks and other food aid projects in Birmingham to count the number of people accessing their services in one week in the spring.
In spring 2026, we found that there were 25,308 visits to a foodbank or other food aid organisation in one week. This shows a consistently high level of food aid use in Birmingham, as in the same week in 2025, 22,367 people visited a food project.
In 2026, more organisations filled in the survey than in 2025, so although the total number for 2026 is slightly higher, it works out to a similar average number of visitors per food aid project.
In 2026, there were an average of 159 visits per food aid project, while in 2025, there were an average of 163.
When people visit a food aid project, they often take food home for their household. We found that in 2026, food aid projects were supporting at least 33,500 people.
You can download the full 2025 City-Wide Food Aid Count results here.
Other key facts
- In January 2025, 7.3 million adults experienced food insecurity in the UK (Food Foundation, 2025).
- In January 2025, 17.9% of households with children experienced food insecurity in the UK (Food Foundation, 2025).
- In January 2025, 2.4 million adults in the UK reported not eating for a whole day because they could not afford or get access to food (Food Foundation, 2025).
- In 2023 to 2024, 2.8 million people had used a foodbank in the previous 12 months (DWP, 2025).
If you would like to find out more about our projects, email FoodSystemPH@Birmingham.gov.uk.
Page last updated: 14 May 2026
