Broken Plate 2026 report from The Food Foundation shows poorest families with children would need to spend 85% of their disposable income to afford the government-recommended healthy diet.

Sustain member The Food Foundation have just published the 2026 Broken Plate report.

Their flagship publication documents the health of the UK's food system, how it shapes our lives, and what must change to make healthy, sustainable diets available and affordable to everyone.

This year's report features 16 key metrics - including several new ones - which together highlight the profound impact the food environment is having on people and the planet.

Key findings include:

• Households in the lowest income fifth of the population would need to spend 85% on food to afford the government-recommended healthy diet.

 

• Affluent areas have ample food choices, while poorer areas are often left behind, with fresh produce and healthy food hard to find.

 

• The price gap between healthier and less healthy food is increasing and is now the widest it has been in over a decade.

The report also shows much of our protein comes from unsustainable sources which have high greenhouse gas emissions, rather than healthy and sustainable sources.

Meanwhile fruit and vegetables only account for 3% of traditional advertising food and non-alcoholic drink expenditure, compared to at least 29% for unhealthy foods.

 

Kate Howard, Children's Food Campaign Coordinator at Sustain says:

“The Broken Plate report is another stark reminder that voluntary action is not delivering the pace or scale of change needed. After years of industry pledges, there has still been far too little progress in reducing the salt, sugar and saturated fat in everyday food, or in making healthier options easy and affordable for families.

“Food manufacturers know how to innovate when there is a commercial incentive. The problem is that the current system still rewards companies for producing, promoting and profiting from less healthy food, while families are left to navigate a food environment built against them.

“That is exactly why our new citizen-led campaign We're Fed Up matters. The public can see that this is not about blaming individuals, it's about fixing the system. By adding your name to the campaign, people can send a clear message to ministers that they want stronger action, proper accountability and a food industry that puts our health before corporate profits.”

Read Broken Plate 2026