Thank you to Georgia Keenan from Aira for sharing this with me.
There are currently around 6.5 million adults who follow either a vegetarian, pescatarian or vegan lifestyle in the UK. Combined with an increased sense of ethical consumerism and health awareness, the UK has seen significant growth of organic and premium types of fresh food and a greater demand for fresh fruit and vegetables.
NORTH OF ENGLAND REVEALED AS REGION WITH THE BEST ACCESS TO FRESH FOOD
Leisure has analysed a range of fresh food suppliers, including the number of butchers, greengrocers, fishmongers, bakeries and farmers markets, to reveal the United Kingdom’s fresh food capitals.
- York comes out on top with the highest number of fresh food outlets per capita and an overall score of 69 out of a possible 100. The city has 24 butchers, 47 bakeries and 15 greengrocers, as well as three farmers markets
- Representing Scotland, Glasgow ranks in at fourth place, with over 129 butchers, 113 bakeries and 25 greengrocers, whilst Northern Ireland has two representatives in the top 20 – Londonderry in 12th place and Belfast in 18th
- Brighton is the highest ranked Southern city in second place overall, providing its residents with great access to fishmongers and farmers markets
If you’re keen to avoid supermarket chains, then you might consider visiting your local market or high street to complete your weekly food shop – but which UK city ranks the highest for access to fresh food? Leisure, one of the leading range cooker brands has analysed cities around the UK to reveal which has the highest number of butchers, bakeries, greengrocers, fishmongers and farmers markets per capita. You can view the interactive graphic here.
Meat lovers can rejoice in Manchester, which is the UK city with the highest number of butchers per capita (99 butchers in total). – the highest number per capita for both outlets.
For the best access to fresh fish, it is no surprise that the coastal city of Brighton came out top with seven fishmongers in total, Ranking in second place overall in the Fresh Food Index, Brighton also has 14 butchers, 22 bakeries and five farmers markets.
However, if it’s the lure of a well-stocked farmers market that gets your culinary juices flowing, then the residents of Cambridge have plenty of options to choose from, with seven farmers markets overall – the highest number of markets per capita of all the cities analysed.
Crowned as the number one fresh food capital of the UK is York, scoring 69 overall. With a population of 153, 717, the city has three farmer’s markets, three fishmongers, and 24 butchers. Vegan, vegetarian or just trying to cut down on your meat consumption? York also has 15 greengrocers and 47 bakeries,
The northern region of the UK is leading the way with access to fresh foods, with four out of five top scoring cities based in the north including: York (69), Manchester (66), Glasgow (60) and Chester (57). London ranks in at a surprising 45th place, despite having over 118 farmer’s markets, 225 fishmongers and 67 bakeries offering fresh and local produce to its residents. Yet the high population in London means that it has significantly fewer fresh food outlets per capita.
Overall, the North of England is comparably better than the South of England for its access to butchers, fishmongers and bakeries, whereas the South has been revealed to have better access to farmers markets and greengrocers.
Average scores of UK regions for fresh food outlets per capita*:
| Region | Butchers per capita average score | Farmers Markets per capita average score | Fishmongers per capita average score | Bakeries per capita average score | Greengrocers per capita average score |
| North England | 13.8 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 10.1 | 8.4 |
| South England | 7.3 | 13.4 | 6.0 | 7.6 | 8.9 |
*calculated from top 25 ranked cities
Top ten fresh food capitals of the United Kingdom:
| Rank | City | Overall Fresh Food Index Score |
| 1 | York | 69 |
| 2 | Brighton | 66 |
| 3 | Manchester | 66 |
| 4 | Glasgow | 60 |
| 5 | Chester | 57 |
| 6 | Newcastle (upon Tyne) | 53 |
| 7 | Bath | 53 |
| 8 | Kingston upon Hull | 50 |
| 9 | Cambridge | 48 |
| 10 | Norwich | 46 |
Gino Grossi, Marketing Manager at Leisure, comments:
“The health and environmental benefits of buying local, fresh produce are clear, so it’s great to see so many local food stores around the UK for residents to shop in. With a rise in people becoming more environmentally conscious and wanting to know the source of their food, shoppers are turning to their local high street and food markets.
Whether they are looking for a cake or loaf of bread from their local bakery, or want to purchase the items they need to create a family favourite dish, the cities of the UK have plenty of options.
It’s great to see that people have so much access to fresh food in the UK, and with one of our Leisure range cookers, they’ll be able to create a feast for friends and family in next to no time.”
For more information on the UK’s Fresh Food Capitals, visit Leisure.
The Fresh Food Index was created by measuring factors such as the number of butchers, farmers markets, greengrocers, fishmongers and bakeries in the top 50 cities in the UK. These figures, sourced from online directory, Yell, and Google Maps, were divided by each city’s population size to reveal a per capita ‘density’ figure. These scores were combined for each city and ranked, and the highest scoring cities were consequently crowned as top UK cities for access to fresh food. All data is correct as of 18th April 2019.
All data and methodology can be found here.
