Access to food is part of the concept known as ‘food poverty’.

Within the food poverty concept it is known that the barriers to people accessing a healthy and affordable diet are very varied.

Four main issues have been identified;

		Awareness
		Do people have the knowledge and skills and confidence needed to cook and eat healthy foods?
		Availability
		Is there an adequate supply of healthy food for people to buy?
		Affordability
		Are the prices for healthy food at levels where even the poorest people can afford a healthy diet?
		Access
		Can everybody easily get to the available supplies of healthy food?  This means considering the issues for people without cars or those with mobility difficulties – can they easily get to shops selling affordable healthy food and easily return home with bags of shopping?

Various combinations of the above four issues may have an impact with different population groups in different areas.  It is important to understand the whole concept of food poverty rather than try to look at the different issues in isolation.

It is also important to understand the pressures on individuals that come from the highly sophisticated food advertising industry where consumers, especially those lacking in food knowledge, are vulnerable to the pressures of advertising and become attracted to cheap processed foods which are often unhealthy due to high levels of sugars, fats and salt.

Visit our Downloads page to download the report on Access to Healthy Food in Ashfield, researched and written in partnership between FIG and Ashfield District Council and funded through Nottinghamshire County Council’s Health Inequalities Fund.

Find out more about Food Access work around the country by visiting Sustain's Food Access Network pages.