NORTH Ayrshire and Arran has been identified as the area in Scotland where people are most likely to struggle to access affordable food as calls are made for supermarkets to sign up to a 10-point plan to support consumers through the cost of living crisis.

A new study undertaken with researchers from the Consumer Research Data Centre at the University of Leeds, has identified the places around the UK where households are most likely to be in need of extra support to put food on the table.

Factors such as low income, poor access to affordable food, having no large supermarkets nearby, a lack of online shopping deliveries or circumstances such as no car access make it difficult to shop around can all make it difficult for people to find healthy and affordable food.

All these elements have been combined to create a Priority Places for Food Index with local areas ranked by the likelihood of people needing support in order to have access to affordable and healthy food.

The Index, fashioned in association with the consumer organisation Which? found that in Scotland, North Ayrshire and Arran was worst impacted of all the nation's parliamentary constituency regions, with over two in three (68%) of local areas in dire need of extra support.

In Scotland, the places in highest need of support are in the Central Belt, according to the index, but there is also a notable concentration in and around Dundee where there is relatively poor access to online food deliveries and people are more likely to be suffering from fuel poverty and on a low income.

The Herald: Food Cycle Volunteers serve vegetarian food to promote social inclusion and prevent poverty using leftover food from supermarkets.Picture by SIMON FINLAY.

An analysis of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020 found that North Ayrshire was the fifth most deprived council area in Scotland as of 2016. Some 52 (28%) of North Ayrshire’s 186 data zones were in the 15% most deprived in Scotland.

West Dunbartonshire, Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Glasgow North East and Glenrothres all had about a third of local areas in the region especially in need of extra help, according to the findings.

Areas of Scotland where more than half of local areas were in dire need of extra support included Inverclyde (58.8%), Glasgow South West (57.4%), Glasgow East (51.3%) and Glasgow North West (50%).

It comes as a YouGov poll found that one in seven Scots are not confident they can afford to feed their families.

While 80% were confident they have the money they need for food, more than a third of the Scots public (37%) say they were less sure they can afford to feed their families than they were this time last year, including 10% who are “much” less confident than they were 12 months ago.

While 85% of Scots say they have never had to turn to a foodbank, more than a fifth of the (21%) believe they are now more likely to need one than they were a year ago.

Which says that supermarkets need to do more to support all consumers through the crisis by making sure food prices are easy to understand to make budgeting much simpler, making sure budget lines that enable healthy choices are available throughout stores and online, and providing targeted promotions to support people in the areas that are struggling the most.

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As part of its newly launched Affordable Food For All campaign, it has created a 10-point plan to help supermarkets provide the support people around the country desperately need in order to feed themselves through the ongoing crisis.

Sue Davies, Which head of food policy, said: “We know that many Scots are already skipping meals through the worst cost of living crisis in decades but our new research tells us where in Scotland support is most urgently needed.

“The supermarkets have the ability to take action and make a real difference to communities in Scotland and all around the UK. That’s why we’re calling on them to ensure everyone has easy access to budget food ranges that enable healthy choices, can easily compare the price of products to get the best value, and that promotions are targeted at supporting people most in need.”

Which said the reasons for rising food prices were "complex" and said that along with the wider cost of living crisis, are not likely to be addressed in the short to medium term.

Michelle Morris, associate professor of nutrition and lifestyle analytics at the University of Leeds, said: “With so many people in the UK already suffering from food insecurity and the cost of living crisis making that much worse, we need to do all that we can to support those most in need to access affordable, healthy and sustainable foods.

“That is why we have developed the Priority Places for Food Index in collaboration with Which. Our interactive map makes it easy to identify neighbourhoods most in need of support and highlights the main reasons that they need this support, recognising that one size does not fit all and that tailored help is required.”