PEOPLE living in parts of Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire are struggling to find fresh food they can afford, new research shows.

A report published last week by public policy think tank Social Market Foundation identified a number of “deprived food deserts” – low income areas that are without a shop offering affordable fresh food, impacting the ability for those living there to eat healthily.

Among the ‘food deserts’ highlighted was part of the sprawling Glenburn housing scheme, in Paisley, as well as the Auchenback area of Barrhead.
Another part of East Renfrewshire that made it onto the list is Darnley North. 

According to the report, people living in these areas are likely to pay a higher cost for their weekly food shopping as they have to go to more expensive small convenience stores with a limited stock of good-value fresh products.

And a warning has been issued over the impact this could have on their health.

One in eight people surveyed said that not being near a supermarket which offers healthy food at low prices prevents them from eating more healthily.

And 41 per cent of those households don’t have a car – making it even harder to get to a wide range of stores.

Megan Blake, an expert on ‘food justice,’ said: “For those living in a food desert, this can mean having to dedicate a portion of an already stretched budget toward transportation costs in order to secure food.

“It can mean having to carry their food shopping a long distance – a struggle that many older people living in food deserts experience.”

The research goes on to suggest that online food delivery may not be the solution for people living in food deserts.

One third of people on low incomes said they would never use online shopping.

The research was commissioned by cereal brand Kellogg’s for a report about food access and affordability.

It was revealed that 1.2 million people in Britain live in ‘food deserts.’
Among the top 10 most deprived areas in Scotland are Dalmarnock, Crookston South and Glenwood South, all in Glasgow.