A couple shop in the supermarket vegetable section. She is similing and examining a red pepper.

UK Food Insecurity Systems Map

In 2023, we worked with Sainsbury’s’ Sustainability team to gain a clearer understanding of the causes and effects of food insecurity in the UK.

What we found is that while food insecurity is fundamentally a financial issue, there is a complex interplay of other social and environmental factors that influence the systems surrounding the ability to afford enough good-quality food.

We therefore turned to a systems thinking tool called systems mapping to help us better understand these dynamics, and to support the Sainsbury’s Sustainability team to explore how it could help change the system. (You can learn more about this methodology and how to apply it to your own systems in our systems practice toolkit.)

This systems map, and accompanying presentation, analyses the causes and consequences of rising levels of food insecurity in the UK.

Although this map was initially developed in 2023, the systems and relationships it describes remain unchanged.

UK Food Insecurity Systems Map

Explore the Systems Map

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