UK food shortages: how growing more fruit and veg in cities could reduce the impact of empty supermarket shelves

21.08.2023 - 11:38 / theunconventionalgardener.com / guest

Jill Edmondson, University of Sheffield and Jonathan Leake, University of Sheffield

British supermarkets are imposing limits on how many salad staples shoppers can buy as supply shortages leave shelves empty of some types of fruit and vegetables. The disappearance of fresh produce is said to be largely the result of adverse weather leading to a reduced harvest in southern Europe and North Africa.

Freezing temperatures caused tomato production in the southern Spanish region of Almeria to drop 22% during the first few weeks of February compared to the same period in 2022. Extra bureaucracy associated with Brexit and skyrocketing energy prices are also likely to have exacerbated the severity of the shortages.

This is not the first time the fragility of the UK’s fruit and vegetable supply has been exposed, nor will it be the last. The UK is highly reliant on imports of fresh produce – sourcing more than 40% of its vegetables and more than 80% of its fruit from abroad each year – so is already vulnerable to supply chain shocks. And climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.

But more than 80% of people in the UK now live in urban areas. Expanding fruit and vegetable production in cities – a practice called urban horticulture – could thus help to reduce the severity of supermarket supply shortages in the future. The scale of food production from conventional farming without doubt dwarfs production from balconies, gardens or allotments. Yet research suggests that urban horticulture can still increase the availability of fresh produce to city dwellers.

The UK’s secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Therese Coffey, suggested in February that people should “cherish the specialisms that we