Longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dietary purchasing choices of British households

This report uses data on food and non-alcoholic drink purchases from shops, takeaways, restaurants and other outlets to analyse how the diets of a large, representative panel of households in Great Britain evolved 15 months before and up to 24 months after the start of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The report extends previous work by O'Connell, Smith and Stroud (2022), which documented a substantial and sustained increase in calories purchased for consumption at home for the average household, more than offsetting reductions in calories purchased for consumption on-the-go during the first year of the pandemic. This report also examines whether households with and without children have different purchasing patterns.