Northern Ireland Key Findings Report Food and You 2: Wave 11 Infographic
Published 28 August 2026
Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales
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1. Food and You 2 Wave 11 findings at a glance: Northern Ireland
Food and You 2 is an annual official statistics survey of adults across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It explores food-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. This page presents findings for Northern Ireland.
2. Food security
Adults in NI report high levels of food security:
- 78% of respondents were classified as food secure
- 22% were classified as food insecure
Groups more likely to experience food insecurity included:
- Those with long-term health conditions
- Lower-income households
- More deprived and urban areas
3. Shopping for food
When shopping for food:
- 87% of respondents checked use-by dates
- 83% checked best-before dates
Price and quality were the leading factors when choosing food:
- 54% considered price or value for money
- 43% considered quality
4. Promotions
92% had bought food or drink on promotion in the previous 2 weeks.
The most commonly used promotions were:
- loyalty or membership discounts (75%)
- lower-price offers (65%)
- multi-buy promotions (58%)
5. Eating out and ordering takeaways
Food quality and previous experience were the most important factors when deciding where to eat out or order a takeaway.
| Factor | Eating out | Ordering a takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Quality of food | 82% | 77% |
| Previous experience | 78% | 80% |
6. Vitamin and mineral supplements
Almost half of respondents (48%) reported taking taking vitamin and/or mineral supplements.
Of those taking supplements, the most commonly reported were:
- multivitamins or minerals (52%)
- vitamin D (40%)
- magnesium (33%)
- omega-3 (30%)
More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents taking supplements reported taking them for their health and wellbeing.