Accessible, affordable foods

We believe that affordable, safe, sustainable and high-quality nutrition, including more plant-based options, should be more than just tasty and healthy - it should also be accessible to everyone, regardless of income level. There are still far too many people in the world for whom it is impossible to have a healthy affordable diet - in developed as well as developing countries.  

At Nestlé we offer products across a range of prices, channels and formats responding to a wide range of nutritional needs. We offer affordable fortified foods to try to help address specific nutrient deficiencies, in particular ambient food, dairy and nutrition. We also enable people to cook simple, healthy meals suitable for different budgets through our Maggi brand.  

Another example of Nestlé's accessible foods comes from our Little Steps snacks, which have been designed to provide parents with affordable choices that do not compromise on nutrition.

We believe no child should go hungry

The UK is the sixth richest nation in the world. Yet we have the highest level of child food poverty and food insecurity in Europe. Over 70% of food insecure children live in a household where one parent works*. Approximately 2.5 million children live in households that have experienced food insecurity in 2021**.

*Joseph Rowntree Foundation. UK Poverty 2018: A comprehensive analysis of poverty trends and figures)
** Food Foundation Food insecurity tracking – children (https://public.flourish.studio/story/956541/)

Onside with Marcus Rashford

That's why we are supporting Marcus Rashford's Child Food Poverty Taskforce. We have added our voice to those calling on government to:

• expand the free school meals scheme to every child from a household on universal credit or equivalent – helping 1.5 million more children, aged 7 to 16
• expand holiday provision (food and activities) to support all children on free school meals –helping 1.1 million more children
• increase the value of Healthy Start vouchers, from £3.10 to £4.25 a week, and extend the scheme to include those on universal credit or equivalent – helping 290,000 pregnant women, as well as children under the age of 4.

Playing our part

Our work with Marcus Rashford’s Child Food Poverty Taskforce complements our long-term support for Fareshare, Food Cloud, Company Shop and Community Shop.

Since 2005, we have donated large amounts of high-quality surplus food to these organisations in the UK and Ireland for redistribution. We have saved tens of thousands of tonnes of fit-for-consumption food from going to waste.

During the Covid-19 pandemic we stepped up our support to our partner organisations, including responding to urgent requests for additional cereal donations and petfood. We have also supported Community Shop and Food Cloud with product donations and a £1m investment to help vulnerable families access food over the holidays to tackle holiday hunger in particular.  

Nestlé employees have also offered their support in a range of ways. Our logistics experts have provided support and advice to help FareShare improve its food distribution process and our IT department helped build FareShare’s website. Our nutrition team has helped Community Shop to expand their recipes and provide nutrition guidance. 

Cereal Partners UK, a joint venture between Nestlé and General Mills in the UK, have stepped up their support for Magic Breakfast, a leading charity that provides healthy school breakfasts to children at risk of hunger. Nestlé Cereals donated two million portions of breakfast cereals in 2021 to Magic Breakfast and will continue its support going forward.  

This is on top of ongoing support to Fareshare and Community Shop to redistribute products to vulnerable people and help tackle holiday hunger.