The lack of affordable, healthy food is so acute in some of the poorest areas of Birmingham, Liverpool, Bradford, Durham and the Welsh Valleys that the vast majority of neighborhoods in these areas will need targeted help. says. The study found that nearly half of neighborhoods in the North East of England – and around a third in Yorkshire, the West Midlands and the North West of England – did not have easy access to supermarkets and had poor availability for online deliveries and low levels of car ownership, making much harder for low-income households to put food on the table. Graphical guardian All neighborhoods in the Birmingham Hodge Hill parliamentary constituency lacked easy access to cheap and healthy supermarkets, the Which? study found. He quoted a local food bank volunteer, David Fletcher, who said: “Where this food bank is, there’s not a supermarket within two miles.” There is a similar lack of affordable food outlets in Knowsley in Merseyside, according to the study, which found the constituency had half the UK average number of large supermarkets, with 96% of local neighborhoods not having easy access in affordable and healthy food stores. Some rural areas that do not normally feature prominently in deprivation indicators are identified by the Which? as they have poor access to affordable food, such as former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s South West Norfolk constituency, where 70% of neighborhoods have limited access to supermarkets and other food outlets. Graphical guardian All areas most in need of food support tend to have higher levels of poverty, deprivation and fuel poverty, greater use of food banks and greater take-up of free school meals, the study says. The problem of “food deserts” has long been an issue in economically deprived areas, with poor or expensive transport links to those larger supermarkets most likely to offer good value products. However, rising prices and low incomes have highlighted the problem, with 14 million people in the UK currently experiencing food insecurity. On a regional basis, the North East of England is hardest hit, with almost half (45%) of local neighborhoods experiencing poor access to cheap and healthy food, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (37%), the West Midlands (36%) and the northwest (32%). This contrasts with relatively high levels of food affordability in London and the South East, according to the study, which was carried out by researchers at the University of Leeds. Just 4% of the capital’s neighborhoods are likely to experience a lack of access to cheap, fresh food, and 7% in the south-east. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. With the poorest households hit hardest by rising energy and food bills, which? called on national supermarket chains to help low-income customers in so-called “priority” areas by expanding affordable food brands, targeting them with fruit and vegetable offers and making online deliveries easier to access. Sue Davies, who? head of food policy, said: “We know millions of people are skipping meals due to the worst cost of living crisis in decades, but our new research tells us where support is urgently needed in the UK. “Supermarkets have the potential to take action and make a real difference to communities across the UK. That’s why we’re calling on them to ensure that everyone has easy access to affordable food ranges that allow for healthy choices, can easily compare product prices to get the best value, and that offers are aimed at supporting those most in need.” But Andrew Western, chair of the Local Government Association’s resources board, said the welfare system should be generous enough to reflect real living costs, such as trips to the supermarket and internet delivery costs. “Benefits should also be fair and sufficient to support household access to supermarket food,” he said. Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “The rising cost of living is a major concern for both retailers and their customers. Retailers are determined to support their consumers with the cost of living, such as by widening the price range, keeping the price of essential items low and introducing discounts for vulnerable groups.’