The report

Food poverty: one in ten families in Italy sacrifices diet quality

A report by the Food Insecurity and Poverty Observatory shows that 8.4 per cent of our country's population has difficulty accessing food. A healthy diet can cost up to 60% more than one based on ultra-processed foods

by Massimo De Laurentiis

18 December 2025

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3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

While Italian cuisine becomes a Intangible Heritage of Humanity recognised by Unesco, in our country more than one in ten families reduce the quality of their diet for economic reasons.

This is what emerges from a study by the Osservatorio Insicurezza e Povertà Alimentare (OIPA) in collaboration with Istat and the FAO. The study, presented on 18 December in Rome and entitled 'Poverty and food insecurity in Italy', highlights the difficulties of a considerable segment of the population in having access to healthy and balanced food.

Numbers in the World

Globally, the situation has worsened since the pandemic. In 2020, difficulties in ensuring adequate food supply increased and did not return to pre-Covid levels. According to the FAO, in 2024 almost one third of the world's population, some 2.3 billion people, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, i.e. they did not have regular access to sufficient and nutritious food.

Food insecurity also affects more advanced economies. Last year, in Europe and North America, 92 million citizens - 8.1% of the population - experienced significant problems in accessing food.

Numbers that affect daily life. Suffice it to say that, according to Eurostat, in 2023 almost one in ten Europeans could not afford a protein meal every other day. The FAO estimates also show a gender gap: in north-western Europe women are less likely to have problems with access to food than men, while in the south and east of the continent the opposite is true.

The phenomenon in Italy

In the report's preface, FAO Deputy Director-General Maurizio Martina draws attention to the poverty figures in Italy: 5.6 million people in absolute poverty and more than two million families lacking the resources necessary for a dignified life.

Faced with these numbers, it is not surprising that 8.4 per cent of our country's inhabitants live in food deprivation. Almost five million people say they cannot afford a meal with meat, fish or a vegetarian equivalent even once every two days.

This condition presents strong differences depending on the territory. In the South, the share of people affected by food insecurity rises to 12.2%, in the Centre it is around 8.8%, while the North is below the national average at 5.6%.

Food aid

To cope with these difficulties, more and more people are turning to food aid. In 2023, the Food Banks distributed 119,000 tonnes of food throughout the country and about 3 million citizens received aid through the European Aid to the Indigent Fund.

Even in the assistance system, however, there is no shortage of problems. About half of the people in absolute poverty do not receive any food aid, and sometimes the food collected is inadequate. Nutritional analysis of the aid distributed reveals serious deficiencies: animal proteins, sweets and snacks often abound, while whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables are almost absent.

The identikit of people in need shows a prevalence of the most fragile social and age groups: between 2020 and 2023 food aid recipients grew by 10% overall, but with peaks of 33% among minors, 40% among the elderly and 26% among migrants.

The 'food insecurity premium'

The FAO reports that a healthy, balanced diet can cost up to 60 per cent more than one based on ultra-processed food. An economic gap that some refer to as the food insecurity premium, i.e. an excessive price premium for people in socio-economically vulnerable circumstances, who for this reason are unable to access an adequate diet.

In Italy, between 2018 and 2023, the cost of the recommended diet, which favours the consumption of fruit, vegetables, vegetable oils and fats, increased by 24%, from €1,690 to €2,130 per year. Here again, the territorial divide is evident: the South is at the top of the list of areas most affected by the increase in prices for 'healthy' foods, with + 27%. A figure that has an even greater impact in an area where income is below the national average.