National statistics

Family Food 2020/21

Updated 25 April 2023

Introduction

Family Food 2020/21 presents the results from the 2020/21 Family Food module of the Living Costs and Food Survey, covering household shopping and eating habits. Around 5,000 households in the UK are surveyed annually. Households record their expenditure on, and purchased quantities of, food and drink both for the household and that consumed outside the home. Detailed long term time series are available for download. Family Food datasets cover household and eating out purchases for a detailed set of food and drink types, and breakdowns by a number of characteristics including region, income, household composition and occupation, amongst others. More details on the survey are in the About Family Food section.

Financial year estimates

The latest results cover the financial year 2020/21, in line with Family Spending, the ONS parent survey for Family Food, which switched to financial year reporting for 2015/16 onwards. Comparisons between financial year estimates and previous calendar year ones are valid since both cover a full year of shopping activity. Generally Family Food exposes long term trends in consumer behaviour and year on year differences are not especially relevant. In the detailed datasets we have provided indicative estimates for 2015/16 as well as the previously published 2015 calendar year estimates, for comparison.

Results presented in this headline release cover the financial year ending (FYE) 2021, that is, April 2020 to March 2021.

Following government guidance in relation to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a pause in data collection led to interviews being conducted for 13 fewer days than planned in March 2020. Final March interviews took place on Monday 16 March 2020. All households that were not interviewed as a result were treated as non-responders and data were weighted to account for reduced data collection in March 2020 compared with previous years.

1. Expenditure

1.1 Overview

This section provides estimates of household and eating out expenditure on food in 2020/21, alongside analyses of changes in household shopping behaviour in response to food price inflation in recent years.

Using comparisons between low income households and all households it is possible to examine the greater effects food price rises may have on vulnerable groups in society. Low income is one of many reasons to be vulnerable in society but this group is used here as a proxy. In the context of this chapter, low income households are identified as those within the lowest 20% (quintile) of households by equivalised income, a measure of household income that accounts for differences in household size and composition.

COVID-19 and household food purchases

The Covid-19 pandemic affected all parts of the economy in 2020 and had a significant impact on businesses and consumer behaviour as a wide range of measures came into force.

During the lockdown measures in place for part of 2020, retail became the most important source of food for most consumers. Some food which would normally have gone through wholesale to the catering or school sectors was diverted on to retailers’ shelves. For part of this period, supermarkets and convenience stores were generally the only places to purchase food. Retailers implemented social distancing measures and strengthened their home delivery and ‘click and collect’ services, amongst others.

The hospitality sector was effectively paused for large parts of 2020 and the start of 2021. There were even regional differences in the range of restrictions within the UK. The Eat Out to Help Out scheme in August 2020 stimulated demand in the summer, but consumer caution around a second wave of infection towards the end of the year also influenced expenditure outside of the home.

  • In 2020/21 the amount that an average household spent on all food and drink, including alcoholic drinks and food eaten out was £39.71 per person per week. When inflation is taken into account, the amount spent fell by 17.8% since 2019/20 from £48.31 and by 16.3% since 2017/18 from £47.43. In 2020/21 households spent £34.25 on all food and non-alcoholic drinks, down by 16.1% in real terms, from £40.84, since 2019/20.

  • Households spent £36.38 on household food and drink (including alcohol) in 2020/21. This increased by 10.4% in real terms from £32.95 in 2019/20. £31.56 of this (or 79.5% of total spend) was on food and non-alcoholic drinks, up by 8.8% in real terms, and £4.82 was on alcohol, up by 22.3% in real terms, since 2019/20.

  • Expenditure on food and drink eaten out fell by 78.3% in real terms from £15.36 in 2019/20 to only £3.33 in 2020/21. £2.69 of this was on food and non-alcoholic drinks, down by 77.3% from £11.83 in 2019/20, and £0.64 was on alcohol, down by 81.9% from £3.53 in 2019/20.

  • In 2020/21 the percentage of spend on food and non-alcoholic drinks for the average UK household was 14.4%, up from 10.8% in 2019/20. The lowest 20% of households, by income, spent 18.3% of their expenditure, up from 14.7% in 2019/20. This was due to hospitality businesses having to close during Covid lockdowns and households buying more food to eat at home.

1.2 Food classification and results tables

Family Food classifies food items into a hierarchical coding scheme of approximately 500 different food codes. Full details of how food is coded and where it fits into the scheme are available in the methodology paper Food and drink codes. Because of space limitations, the data tables in this report generally only show selected food and drink items within the main categories. The accompanying spreadsheet datasets show results for the full list of codes, going back in most cases to 2001 and in some cases back to 1974. Historical estimates going back to 1940 in some cases are available from The National Archives.

1.3 Expenditure on food and drink in current prices

The average weekly expenditure on all food and drinks in 2020/21 was £39.71 per person, a decrease of 17.3% on 2019/20. Total expenditure on household food and non-alcoholic drink increased by 9.5% in 2020/21 to £31.56 and was 14.6% higher than in 2017/18. Since 2017/18 household food and drink expenditure has increased by 15.9%, while expenditure on food and drink eaten out has decreased by 76.1%.

To restrict transmission, hospitality was effectively closed meaning people could no longer eat out. People therefore spent more at the supermarkets and ate at home which resulted in these shifts in consumer spending patterns.

Chart 1.1: UK average expenditure on food and drink in current prices, per person per week, 2020/21

Chart shows estimates for the average UK expenditure on food and drink.

Data for this chart is in the UK expenditure dataset, downloadable here.

View the specific data for this chart in your browser

Download the specific data for this chart in .csv format: 1KB Bytes

Tables 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 show expenditure in real terms, with the values adjusted to remove the effects of inflation. The figures are derived by deflating expenditure at current prices by the CPIH Index. The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) is the most comprehensive measure of inflation. It extends the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to include a measure of the costs associated with owning, maintaining and living in one’s own home, known as owner occupiers’ housing costs (OOH), along with Council Tax. Both are significant expenses for many households that are excluded from the CPI.

The Consumer Price Index including Owner Occupiers’ Housing costs (CPIH) rose by 0.6% between 2019/20 and 2020/21 and rose by 4.7% between 2017/18 and 20/21. Removing this overall rise in prices from the changes in expenditure on food and drink shows how expenditure in real terms has changed.

Since 2019/20 expenditure on all food and drink eaten out, in real terms, has fallen by 78.3% from £15.36 to £3.33. Expenditure on household food and non-alcoholic beverages has increased 8.8% from £29.01 to £31.56. Expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages eaten out has fallen by 77.3% from £11.83 to £2.69 and expenditure on alcoholic drinks consumed out of the house has fallen by 81.9% from £3.53 to £0.64.

Since 2017/18, expenditure on household food and non-alcoholic beverages in real terms has risen by 9.5% from £28.83 to £31.56 in 2020/21 and eating out expenditure has fallen by 75.9% from £11.15 to £2.69 in 2020/21.

Spending on alcoholic drinks for household consumption rose by 19.6% from £4.03 to £4.82 over the same period, whilst alcoholic drinks bought for consumption outside the home fell by 81.3% from £3.42 to £0.64.

Licensed premises were shut for large parts of this financial year or even banned from selling alcohol when reopened. For most households, supermarkets and other food and drink retail outlets were the only place to buy alcohol for consumption at home.

Context: Food Prices

Food prices rose sharply during the economic crash in 2008, and in subsequent years food price inflation was generally higher than overall inflation. Food prices are driven by a number of factors, but international commodity and oil prices and exchange rates are significant ones.

In 2014, food price inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index) fell below overall inflation (based on the all items index), and food prices actually started to fall as inflation fell below 0%. This trend continued throughout 2015 and 2016, but food prices began to increase again at the start of 2017 . This continued to increase however, all items inflation increased also during 2018 and 2019 and so the discrepancy was maintained. The discrepancy even grew larger as food inflation dipped slightly from April 2020 up until the end of the next financial year.

Family Food estimates generally show trends over the long term and short term spikes or depressions are smoothed out in the annual results. If the current short term picture with prices continues, as the sharp increases from 2007 did, then we can expect to see this reflected in shopping behaviour in future years.

Table 1.1: UK expenditure on food and drink in real terms, 2020/21

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 % change since
2019/20
% change since
2017/18
CPIH All Items L522 (2015 = 100) 101.19 104.05 106.4 108.24 108.93 0.6% 4.7%
Expenditure on household food and drink 32.36 32.86 32.88 32.95 36.38 10.4% 10.7%
Expenditure on food and drink eaten out 15.02 14.57 14.8 15.36 3.33 -78.3% -77.2%
Total expenditure on all food and drink 47.38 47.43 47.68 48.31 39.71 -17.8% -16.3%
% eaten out 32% 31% 31% 32% 8%    

Table 1.2: UK expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drink in real terms, 2020/21

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 % change since
2019/20
% change since
2017/18
CPIH All Items L522 (2015 = 100) 101 104 106 108 109 0.6% 4.7%
Expenditure on household food and non-alcoholic drink 28.59 28.83 28.99 29.01 31.56 8.8% 9.5%
Expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks eaten out 11.52 11.15 11.37 11.83 2.69 -77.3% -75.9%
Expenditure on all food and non-alcoholic drinks 40.11 39.98 40.36 40.84 34.25 -16.1% -14.3%
% eaten out 29% 28% 28% 29% 8%    

Table 1.3: UK expenditure on alcoholic drink in real terms, 2020/21

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 % change since
2019/20
% change since
2017/18
CPIH All Items L522 (2015 = 100) 101 104 106 108 109 0.6% 4.7%
Expenditure on household alcoholic drinks 3.78 4.03 3.89 3.94 4.82 22.3% 19.6%
Expenditure on alcoholic drinks eaten out 3.5 3.42 3.43 3.53 0.64 -81.9% -81.3%
Expenditure on all alcoholic drinks 7.27 7.45 7.32 7.47 5.46 -26.9% -26.7%
% eaten out 0.48 0.46 0.47 0.47 0.12 0.0% 0.0%

1.5 Indicator of affordability of food

The relative affordability of food can be measured by the share of the household expenditure going on food, i.e. the percentage of total household spending that goes on household food purchases. If the percentage increases over time, food is placing a greater burden on spending. Low-income households are of particular concern because they tend to have a greater percentage of spend going on food.

Table 1.4: Percentage of spend on household food and non-alcoholic drinks

Year Lowest 20% by equivalised income All UK households
2008 16.8 10.8
2009 16.1 11.5
2010 15.8 11.2
2011 16.6 11.3
2012 16.2 11.6
2013 16.1 11.4
2014 16.4 11.1
2015/16 16 10.7
2016/17 14.4 10.5
2017/18 15.2 10.6
2018/19 14 10.6
2019/20 14.7 10.8
2020/21 18.3 14.4

In the UK, an average household spent 14.4% of their expenditure on household food and non-alcoholic drink in 2020/21, while for the lowest 20% of households by equivalised income it was higher at 18.3%.

2020/21 saw a substantial increase in percentage spend on household food and non-alcoholic drink for all households and those in the lowest income quintile. This is the result of the COVID-19 Pandemic measures. People were told not to travel, to try to work at home and non-essential businesses were closed. Households saved on commuting costs and spent more on food to eat at home.

Although the percentage of spend on food had been relatively constant, the actual amount spent, and the products purchased will change in response to relative prices.

Chart 1.2: Average share of spend in all households, FYE 2021

Chart shows the share of expenditure of all UK households on different categories.

Source: ONS Family Spending in the UK

Data for this chart is in Table 3.2E5 of the Family Spending Workbook 1: detailed expenditure and trends, downloadable here.

View the specific data for this chart in your browser

Download the specific data for this chart in .csv format: 1KB

In 2020/21 the average household spent 14.4% of their expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks while the lowest 20% of households, by income, spent 18.3%. In both cases food was the second highest expenditure after housing, fuel and power.

This is significant as spend on food rose from having the 4th highest share in 2019/20 to the 2nd highest share.

Others such as transport and recreation spend went down as a result of the changes in consumer patterns previously discussed.

1.6 Effects of food price rises

Food prices up to 2020/21

In 2020/21 the average CPIH food and non alcoholic beverage prices rose by 0.2%, below the CPIH all items rate of inflation which increased by 0.8%.

The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) is the most comprehensive measure of inflation. It extends the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to include a measure of the costs associated with owning, maintaining and living in one’s own home, known as owner occupiers’ housing costs (OOH), along with Council Tax. Both of these are significant expenses for many households that are excluded from the CPI.

Chart 1.3 UK trend in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in real terms (CPIH), January 1999 to April 2021

Chart shows the price index for food and non-alcoholic beverages in real terms over the last 20 years.

Source: Consumer Price Indices, (ONS)

View the data for this chart

Download the data for this chart in .csv format: 41 KB

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices, in real terms, began rising from about July 2006, peaking in August 2008, before steadying at a new higher level until early 2014, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. Prices then decreased every month until early 2017 when prices began to stabilise before having slight dip from May 2020.

As this data is in real terms it reflects how food price inflation compares to overall inflation. If prices of other items have increased more than food, then real terms food prices would show a decrease.

Households can react in many ways to food price increases - they may simply spend more, or buy less of a type of product. They may also ‘trade down’ by switching to purchases of cheaper products within a food category . Family Food provides evidence-based estimates of changes in shopping behaviour in response to higher prices.

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2. Purchases

2.1 Overview

Comparisons over a long period of time provide a more reliable indication of change than a year- on- year comparison. Family Food long term datasets cover household and eating out purchases for a detailed set of food and drink types, and breakdowns by a number of characteristics including region, income, household composition and occupation, amongst others.

Purchases of the majority of household foods saw a clear increase, with the most prominent being sugar, alcohol drinks, confectionary, cheese and vegetables (excluding potatoes) that increased by 23.7%, 20.3%, 18.8%,15.7% and 11.1% respectively.

However, this was not the case for eggs, bread, cakes, and biscuits which saw a decrease in purchases in this most recent financial year.

Context: Purchases estimates

It is a widely recognised characteristic of self-reported diary surveys such as Family Food that survey respondents tend to under report their purchases. Empirical comparisons of sales and duty data for alcohol in particular suggest that reported alcohol consumption could be 40-60% lower than the reality. For other food and drink, reporting is likely to be closer to actual purchases, but under-reporting is likely to feature and some food types may be under-reported to a greater extent than others.

Although such surveys are completely confidential, respondents may under report for a range of reasons, from self-consciousness to simply forgetting to record purchases. ‘Top up’ and eating out purchases are probably more likely to be missed than the main household shop. There is no evidence to say whether levels of under-reporting have changed over time, but it is plausible that changes in household shopping and eating patterns may have contributed to increased under-reporting.

The ONS had to make changes in the methodology due to the pandemic and as a result the collection of food diaries had to be shifted mostly online.

This may have resulted in differences in certain categories due to sampling adjustments rather than real effects.

There are much more data and analysis available about health and diet from Public Health England. For example, The National Diet and Nutrition survey (NDNS) has data that is focused on Nutrition and Calorific intake.

2.2 Household purchases

Table 2.1 shows the main food groups examined in this section. A detailed explanation of how these trends are calculated is available in the Methodology Papers.

Table 2.1: Quantities of household purchases of food and drink in the UK

Grams per person per week, except for liquids in millilitres, and eggs (number) (a)

Food group Units 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 % change since 2019/20 % change since 2017/18
Milk and milk products (excluding cheese) (ml) 1818 1786 1840 1746 1791 2.6 0.2
Cheese   124 125 123 129 150 15.7 19.9
Meat   953 957 961 949 976 2.9 2
Fish   139 139 146 148 153 3.5 10.6
Eggs (no.) 2 2 2 2 2 -5.1 6
Fats   139 158 161 158 169 7 7.3
Sugar and preserves   107 99 93 87 108 23.7 8.4
Potatoes (fresh and processed)   634 669 620 612 643 5.1 -3.9
Vegetables (excluding potatoes)   1137 1134 1139 1147 1275 11.1 12.4
Fruit   1130 1097 1106 1080 1159 7.4 5.7
Bread   532 527 521 524 502 -4.2 -4.8
Cakes, buns and pastries   150 159 151 163 158 -3.5 -1.1
Biscuits and crispbreads   169 160 159 173 165 -4.4 3
Other cereals and cereal products   562 582 589 607 619 2.1 6.5
Beverages   54 49 52 56 60 8.2 21.7
Soft drinks (b) (ml) 1608 1508 1642 1658 1812 9.3 20.2
Confectionery   130 137 136 144 171 18.8 24.9
Alcoholic drinks (ml) 712 728 712 728 876 20.3 20.3

(a) Milk and milk products excluding cheese, beverages, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks are measured in millilitres, eggs are counted individually.

(b) Converted to unconcentrated equivalent by applying a factor of 5 to concentrated and low calorie concentrated soft drinks.

2.3 Home-grown food

In 2020/21, 2% of fresh fruit and vegetables entering the household came from free sources, mainly gardens and allotments. This is down from 3% in 2019/20. This percentage is subject to year-on-year fluctuations depending on growing conditions in the UK. In 2020/21, the percentage of eggs entering the household which were free or home produced was 2%.

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Beans 33 14 34 18 29 19
Onions, leeks and shallots 5 5 3 1 3 2
Tomatoes 6 5 5 10 8 5
Potatoes 4 4 3 2 2 2
All other vegetables 3 2 3 3 2 2
Apples 13 8 6 9 7 4
Soft fruit 7 6 8 7 4 5
All other fruit 1 1 1 1 2 1
Overall percentage 4 3 3 3 3 2
Eggs(a) 4 4 3 4 8 2

(a) As eggs are counted in whole numbers and not grams like the rest of the categories it is not appropriate to include them in the overall percentage when the units are different.

2.4 Takeaway food and drink

Takeaway purchases for consumption within the home are classed as household purchases (see Methodology Papers). Table 2.3 summarises the takeaway part of the major food groups. Between 2019/20 and 2020/21, purchases of takeaway food brought home have decreased by 21.7%. Expenditure on takeaway foods was £2.13 per person per week in 2020/21, 2.7% lower than in 2017/18.

Table 2.3 UK household quantities and expenditure on takeaway food brought home (a)

Purchases (grams) 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 RSE (b) % change since
2019/20
% change since
2017/18
Total Meat 59 55 53 57 43 ++ -24.5 -22.7
Total Fish 9 10 10 9 9 + 5.5 -9.3
Total Vegetables 42 43 40 45 37 ++ -17.1 -14.8
Total Bread 5 4 5 6 4 + -23 -3.6
Total Other Cereals 47 40 44 45 33 + -26.8 -17.7
Total Miscellaneous 3 3 3 4 2   -36.9 -24.1
Total 164 156 156 164 128   -21.7 -17.8
Expenditure (pence) 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 RSE (b) % change since 2019/20 % change since 2017/18
CPIH All Items D7BT (2015 = 100) 101 104 106 108 109   0.6 4.7
Total Meat 96 91 88 96 83 ++ -13.6 -8.6
Total Fish 19 21 21 19 24 + 27 14.5
Total Vegetables 36 37 34 37 35 ++ -4.6 -3.2
Total Bread 10 9 12 13 11 + -8.9 20.7
Total Other cereals 65 56 63 64 54 + -15.3 -2.7
Total Miscellaneous 5 5 5 5 5   -6.4 -5.8
Total 231 219 223 234 213   -9 -2.7

(a) Purchases in grams per person per week, Expenditure in pence per person per week

(b) Relative Standard Error: +++: < 2.5%, ++: 2.5% - 5%, +: 5% - 10%, no +: 10% - 20%, -: >20%

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