These areas in the UK are worst hit by rising cost of groceries

A recent report by consumer watchdog Which? has detailed the 30 areas in the UK which are struggling most in the cost of living crisis with regards to affordable food. The Priority Places for Food Index, created by Which? and the University of Leeds, has ranked local areas by the likelihood of people needing extra support with their groceries.

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In the report, which was released on Tuesday, the watchdog called on supermarkets to do more to help customers who are most in need.

Hardest hit

thumbnail — Top 30 areas in the UK worst hit by the rising cost of groceries Bloomberg - Getty Images

Amongst those on the list are communities in Birmingham, Merseyside and Sunderland, as per the Independent:

According to the index, England’s North East is the worst impacted, with 45 percent of local areas ‘in dire need of extra support’ because of relatively poor access to online shopping deliveries.

Birmingham Hodge Hill is considered the area most in need - with 100% of its local areas in need of extra support.

Factors at play include low income, limited access to affordable food and online shopping delivery not being available in certain deprived areas. All of these factors contribute towards people not being able to find healthy and affordable food.

10-point plan

The consumer group has drawn up a 10-point plan for supermarkets that will include making sure prices on shelves are more clear and easy to understand. They also urged supermarkets to do more to make healthy budget lines more widely available and consider giving targeted promotions to areas that need it most.

Michelle Morris, associate professor of nutrition and lifestyle analytics at the University of Leeds, commented, as per Sky News:

With so many people in the UK already suffering from food insecurity and the cost of living crisis making that much worse, we need to do all that we can to support those most in need to access affordable, healthy and sustainable foods.

Previous Which? research has found that many people have been forced to change their shopping habits as a result of inflation and rising costs. Reports showed that millions had started skipping meals and turning to food banks to help feed themselves and their families, as per Sky News.