The core theme for World Food Day 2025 is “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future”. In our small corner of the world, in the North of England, that call feels especially relevant.

The recently published Nutrition North network report ‘Food, Health and Nutrition in the North of England: Inequalities and Opportunities’, lays bare the reality that northern communities eat worse and are experiencing some of the worst diet-related health outcomes in the country.

The report’s findings are stark. People in the North are eating fewer vegetables, fruits, and sources of fibre and calcium than the national average. Healthy fats are less common in northern diets, while access to affordable, nutritious food is limited. Meanwhile, the region has 26% higher density of fast-food outlets than the national average.

These challenges are more than statistics, they are the lived experience of millions of people across our three regions – the North East, North West, and Yorkshire & the Humber. Too many families face the impossible choice between heating and eating; children go to school hungry; adults struggle with preventable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular illness. All northern regions have the highest levels of adult and child obesity in England.

At its heart, this is a story about inequality – and about the systems that shape what’s on our plates.

World Food Day reminds us that food insecurity is not only an issue for low- and middle-income countries. Here, in one of the richest nations in the world, 13% of households in the North West experience food insecurity – the highest in England. The poorest families would need to spend up to 70% of their disposable income to afford a government recommended diet as food prices soar. This is one of many reasons why regional dietary habit in the North tends to be even worse than the national average across England.

As global discussions this year focus on building resilient food systems, our northern experience mirrors the world’s challenges: poor dietary habits driving negative health and planetary health, while wider inequality further erodes the potential for better choices. Addressing these intertwined challenges demands collaboration with industry experts, communities and policymakers.

The Nutrition North report didn’t just aim to define the problem – it proposed a roadmap for change. Among its key recommendations are:

• Implementing place-based strategies to tackle food insecurity, from expanding voucher schemes like Healthy Start to auto-enrolment for free school meals and holiday activity and food programmes.
• Embedding a skilled nutrition workforce across northern regions to provide locally relevant, culturally sensitive guidance that engages our most vulnerable people.
• Improving regional dietary data, enabling more targeted interventions that reflect local realities.
• Ensuring secure family incomes and support mechanisms, so households can consistently afford nutritious food.

At Northumbria University, we are proud to contribute to these goals. Our researchers have already been collaborating with community partners and local authorities to co-design realistic solutions to improve food provision with the people that matter. Wider research on social inequity, sustainability and human health will continue to make a difference to individual lives and to society.

Despite the challenges, there is cause for optimism. Across the region, communities, councils, and universities are leading the way with innovative, evidence-based interventions. Gateshead’s planning policies limiting new fast-food outlet advertising has led to a change in how unhealthy food to is marketed to school aged children. Food Active’s Healthy Weight Declaration is uniting local authorities in a shared commitment to tackling excess body weight. These are proof that change is possible when local expertise is empowered and community voices are harnessed.

This World Food Day, we join the global community in reaffirming that access to nutritious, affordable, and sustainable food is a human right, not a privilege. To make that right a reality, national and regional leaders must:

• Recognise the unique challenges faced by the North
• Invest in local solutions and skilled professionals
• Ensure every child and family has the income security needed to thrive.

The future of food in the North can be brighter still – and through partnerships like Nutrition North, we are determined to be leaders in transformation.

Together, we are advancing a vision where secure and sustainable diets, better health and economic or societal opportunities are the norm.