Around 1 in 60  households in Bristol suffered from severe food insecurity in 2021 and 1 in 22 households from either moderate or severe food insecurity.

Single parents, disabled people and Black/Black British residents experience dramatically higher rates of food insecurity. Rates were also more than double the Bristol average for people aged 16-24. 

This data is hard to compare with previous years as COVID-19 made food accessibility much harder and food security more prominent.

Food parcels and free school meals

Food parcel deliveries in 2021-22 reached 26,961. This was down from a peak of 34,668 at the height of the pandemic but over 10,000 parcels higher than in the years before the pandemic and many recipients reported being first-time users as a result of unemployment and financial insecurity caused by the pandemic.

Across Bristol, in 2016, 20.3% of children received free school meals, on average, with the percentage reaching 43.3% in the most affected wards and dropping to 1.9% in the least affected areas of the city. Figures for 2022 show an average of 27.6%, with the highest percentage being 52.8% and the lowest 2.0%. This increase came after slight decreases in 2017 and 2018. The East and North East Bristol wards, which contain a higher percentage of children receiving school meals, correlate strongly with the wards experiencing higher levels of moderate to severe food insecurity.

Obesity

Obesity issues have not improved since 2019 either, with child malnutrition rates hovering around their 2011 levels:

• underweight children between 4-5: 0.7% to 0.8%
• overweight children 4-5 years old: 22 to 23%
• overweight children 10-11 years old: 32.7-33.9%

What Bristol is doing

Strategies and partnerships

To tackle inequality of access to food in the city and beyond, Bristol has committed to a One City Food Equality Strategy bringing together over 70 different organisations, including the local council. This partnership approach is also being adopted by the council across the wider food system.

Following Bristol’s successful Gold Food Sustainability Award in 2021, the city is now working on a Good Food Action Plan for 2030.

This comprehensive plan covers urban growing, procurement, food education and climate-friendly diets, food infrastructure, good food governance, and disaster risk reduction. The Food Equality strategy will also form a key pillar of this work. This combined approach recognises the interconnected nature of the food system and how integral food equality and sustainability are to the delivery of multiple SDGs.

Promoting fresh produce

Another recent partnership solution to help develop sustainable, healthy, local food systems in the city has been realised through the city council’s parks department. For the past three years, Bristol’s plant nursery at one of its key parks has donated crop plants to growers who are supporting food banks. The project has donated 10,000 fruit and vegetable plants to over 45 community groups that are supporting those most affected by the cost of living crisis. The food grown provides foodbanks and schools with fresh, local, seasonal produce.

The city is also collaborating to provide fresh local produce in some of Bristol’s more deprived wards. Windmill Hill City Farm and Heart of BS13 are working to reopen a city farm in Hartcliffe, one of the areas of the city that faces the highest levels of food insecurity. This partnership will provide new jobs for the area, locally sourced sustainable food and improved engagement with nature and climate action.

School holiday hunger

In 2019, a Bristol partnership was formed to address school holiday hunger. The Healthy Holidays programme, led by Feeding Bristol and Fareshare, sought to create a city where no child goes hungry during the summer school holidays. In 2021, following funding from the UK Government to deliver free holiday activities and food to children and young people, Bristol City Council, Feeding Bristol, Fareshare, Bristol Association for Neighbourhood Daycare and Playful Bristol established the new Your Holiday Hub programme.

Following the One City Approach, local organisations and providers are engaged in a free school holiday programme for children and young people who receive free school meals. Sessions include a variety of fun activities, such as sports, music, arts and crafts. They provide excellent opportunities for children to learn and develop skills, create friendships and try new activities while also tackling childhood obesity and fostering positive mental wellbeing.

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