Some four fifths of UK adults have changed their food habits due to rising costs – rising to 89% of households with two children, an annual survey suggests.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis is “transforming the way Britain eats”, creating a nation of “increasingly cautious, habit-driven cooks who are reluctant to stray from tried-and-tested recipes”, according to the Good Food Nation survey.
Some 81% of respondents said rising costs had changed their food habits, with households with two children even more likely to have overhauled their eating habits.
Almost half of respondents across all demographics (45%) said expensive ingredients put them off cooking new dishes.
Apart from food prices, 38% of retirees said they had used more energy-efficient cooking methods such as an air fryer to save on their energy bills.
The poll also found “decision fatigue” was resulting in 61% of adults eating the same breakfast every day, and 38% regularly eating the same lunch.
Some 5% of 25 to 34-year-olds claimed that ordering a takeaway counted as cooking.
However, 42% of respondents said they now benefit from planning their meals in advance to save money, and 25% said they benefited from batch cooking.
Lily Barclay, content director at Good Food, said: “The data from this year’s Good Food Nation survey paints a clear picture of a nation under pressure – but also one that is adapting with real ingenuity.
“People are understandably risk-averse when money is tight but what’s encouraging is that this same instinct to plan and be careful can lead people away from ultra-processed foods and towards genuinely healthier affordable eating.”
YouGov surveyed 2,080 UK adults online between May 8-11.
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