The “Financially Struggling” and Access to Food

In our last newsletter we identified six key groups who are currently experiencing the greatest financial difficulty, and therefore particularly at risk from the cost-of-living crisis:

  • Group A: Pensioners in Small Public Rented Flats
  • Group C: Young Families with Dependent Children in Public Rented Houses in High Deprivation
  • Group E: Low Income Residents in High Density Non-Council Terraced Houses
  • Young People Aged 16 – 34
  • Residents from BAME Backgrounds
  • Residents With a Disability or Impairment


    • As the cost of food increases, this month we revisit our December 2021 VOX POP survey to understand where these groups typically shop for food, their attitudes to food and eating, whether food poverty is likely to be an issue for them, and how we might help them.

    Group Where They Shop Food / Eating Habits Food Access

    		Food Poverty Risk

    		Potential Help
    Group A: Pensioners in Small Public Rented Flats Shop More Often Than Average:
    • Freezer shop

    Shop Less Often Than Average:
    • Specialist shop e.g. butcher
    • Farmers market / shop
    • Restaurant / pub / café

    		• Find it difficult to buy just the amount of food for needs
    • Often not sure what to do with leftovers
    • Price is more important when buying food, than where it was sourced / grown     		• Live near lots of takeaways • Gone hungry in the last two years because couldn’t afford food Want to learn more about:
    • Preventing food waste
    • Healthy diet / nutrition
    • Planning meals on a budget
    • Cooking a meal from scratch

    Interested in:
    • Cooking workshops / courses

    Group C: Young Families with Dependent Children in Public Rented Houses in High Deprivation Shop More Often Than Average:
    • Freezer shop

    Shop Less Often Than Average:
    • Small local supermarket
    • Specialist shop e.g. butcher

    		• Often misjudge how much food they need to buy or prepare
    • Not sure about storing / preserving different types of food
    • Not confident to cook a meal from scratch using a variety of raw ingredients
    • Don’t find it easy to come up with recipe ideas for food they have to hand
    • Price is more important when buying food, than where it was sourced / grown     		• Live near lots of takeaways
    • Think they live in a food desert    		 • Gone hungry in the last two years because couldn’t afford food Interested in:
    • Formal volunteering around food
    • Food waste workshops
    Group E: Low Income Residents in High Density Non-Council Terraced Houses Shop More Often Than Average:
    • Discount store
    • Cash and carry
    • Farmers market / shop
    • Community food shop / project
    • Food bank

    Shop Less Often Than Average:
    • Small local supermarket

    		• Feel it is cheaper, or not more expensive, to buy more than need
    • Not confident to cook a meal from scratch using a variety of raw ingredients
    • Would like to grow own fruit / veg but do not have the space / don’t know how     		Want to learn more about:
    • Growing own food
    Young People Aged 16 – 34 Shop More Often Than Average:
    • Budget supermarket
    • Take-aways
    • Restaurant / pub / café

    Shop Less Often Than Average:
    • Specialist shop e.g. butcher
    • Own allotment / garden

    		• Often misjudge how much food they need to buy or prepare
    • Often not sure what to do with leftovers
    • Don’t find it easy to come up with recipe ideas for food they have to hand
    • Plan meals in advance before shop for food
    • Would like to grow own fruit / veg but do not have the space / don’t know how     		• Think they live in a food desert • Gone hungry in the last two years because couldn’t afford food Want to learn more about:
    • Growing own food
    • Preventing food waste
    • Healthy diet / nutrition
    • Planning meals on a budget
    • Cooking a meal from scratch

    Interested in:
    • Food growing at home / allotment / local green space
    • Food waste workshops
    • Community meals
    • Cooking workshops / courses
    • Street food events

    Residents from BAME Backgrounds Shop Less Often Than Average:
    • Small local supermarket
    • Restaurant / pub / café     		• Have trouble storing food for any length of time / don’t have a freezer
    • Not confident to cook a meal from scratch using a variety of raw ingredients     		• Think they live in a food desert • Have used a foodbank in the last two years Interested in:
    • Food growing at home / allotment / local green space
    • Informal volunteering around food
    • Formal volunteering around food
    • Community food growing
    Residents With a Disability or Impairment Shop Less Often Than Average:
    • Small local supermarket
    • Restaurant / pub / café     		• Mainly buy ready meals / tins
    • Not confident to cook a meal from scratch using a variety of raw ingredients
    • Price is more important when buying food, than where it was sourced / grown     		• Find it difficult to travel to food shops
    • Think they live in a food swamp    		 • Have used a foodbank in the last two years
    • Gone hungry in the last two years because couldn’t afford food    		 Want to learn more about:
    • Healthy diet / nutrition

    Interested in:
    • Community meals


    Food Oases, Deserts and Swamps

    In the above table we use terms like food oasis, food desert and food swamp.

    These are terms used to describe the neighbourhoods people live in and how easy it is to access different types of food.

  • Food oasis – a neighbourhood where there is easy access to affordable fresh food – meat, fish, fruit and veg etc.
  • Food desert – a neighbourhood where there is little or no access to affordable fresh food – meat, fish, fruit and veg etc. although there may be access to expensive fresh food, or access to frozen or pre-packaged food
  • Food swamp – a neighbourhood where there is easy access to lots of non-nutritious food, particularly lots of cheap take-aways


    • We have been able to use the information provided by People’s Panel respondents to model and map the percentage of households in Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) in Hull living in food oases, food deserts and food swamps.

  • Map of Food Oases in Hull
  • Map of Food Deserts in Hull
  • Map of Food Swamps in Hull


    • The maps show the following:

  • The Newland Avenue / University area, Princes Avenue area and the city centre / Victoria Dock area are the areas of the city most likely to be classed as food oases with easy access to affordable fresh food – meat, fish, fruit and veg etc.
  • Conversely, Orchard Park, Bransholme and the Greatfield areas are the areas of the city most likely to be classed as food deserts with little or no access to affordable fresh food – meat, fish, fruit and veg etc.
  • Although food oases, the Princes Avenue and city centre / Victoria Dock areas are also the areas of the city most likely to be classed as food swamps with easy access to lots of non-nutritious food, particularly lots of cheap take-aways
  • The Greatfield, Orchard Park and Bransholme areas are also more likely than average to be food swamps.


    • To make it easier to understand, we have combined the information to create a single ranking of LSOA in the city.

    An area is a higher priority if more people believe it to be a food desert, more people believe it to be food swamp and / or less people believe it to be a food oasis.

    Essentially what this does is show those areas of the city which are most likely to have both limited access to affordable fresh food and easy access to lots of non-nutritious food, particularly lots of cheap take-aways.

  • Combined Food Access Priority Ranking