The latest Broken Plate 2026 report from the Food Foundation paints a stark picture of the UK’s food system. Once again, it shows that for millions of families, healthy food is becoming increasingly unaffordable, less accessible and harder to sustain. The report highlights that the poorest households with children would need to spend 85% of their disposable income to afford the Government’s recommended healthy diet, exposing the deep inequalities built into our food system.
At Rethink Food, these findings aren’t surprising, they reflect what we see every day in the schools and communities we work alongside.
Nathan Atkinson, Co-founder of Rethink Food, said:
“Healthy choices are not just personal choices. They are shaped by price, place and poverty.
The Food Foundation’s new Broken Plate report makes this clear again.
For too many families, eating well isn’t a knowledge gap. It’s an access gap.
We can keep telling people to make better choices, but that means very little if the healthier option is harder to find, harder to afford and harder to sustain.
This is why schools matter. They are trusted places in the heart of communities.
Through the National School Pantry Network, food can become the starting point for relief, recovery and growth.
Food isn’t the issue. Food reveals the issue.”
The Broken Plate report reminds us that our food environment shapes our health. Healthier foods remain more expensive, poorer communities have fewer opportunities to access nutritious food, and the system continues to make unhealthy choices the easiest choices.
That’s why the National School Pantry Network exists.
School pantries do more than provide affordable food. They reduce stigma, strengthen relationships, create opportunities for early support and help schools become community hubs where families can access practical help with dignity.
If we’re serious about improving health outcomes, tackling child poverty and creating healthier communities, we must move beyond telling people to make better choices. We need to create environments where those choices are genuinely available to everyone.
The Broken Plate 2026 report is another reminder that fixing our food system requires more than individual behaviour change. It requires collective action, stronger partnerships and practical community-led solutions.
At Rethink Food, we’re proud to be part of that solution.
