The Priority Places for Food Index (Version 1, October 2022) is a composite index formed of data compiled across seven different dimensions relating to food insecurity for the four nations in the UK. It is constructed using open data to capture complex and multidimensional aspects of food insecurity. It has been developed in response to the 2022 cost of living crisis which puts many of our communities under severe financial pressure and at an increased risk of food insecurity.

Note This is an older version. A revised version, Version 2 was released in January 2024, and is now available as a separate data record.

The index was developed by the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) at the University of Leeds in collaboration with Which?.

Building on the CDRC e-Food Desert Index (EFDI), but with additional domains relating to fuel poverty and family food support, the goal of the Priority Places for Food Index is to identify neighbourhoods that are most vulnerable to increases in the cost of living and which have a lack of accessibility to cheap, healthy, and sustainable sources of food.

The index can be used to inform supermarket location analytics and improve the availability of budget food lines.