IGD spells out the ‘quiet crisis’ facing the UK’s food system

The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) has officially relaunched its flagship “Feeding Britain’s Future” programme, following a stark new report that labels the UK’s food and drink labour shortage a “structural crisis” that now threatens national food security.

A systemic ticking timebomb

The decision to relaunch the 2012-era initiative comes as the sector — the UK’s largest private employer with 4.1 million workers — faces a perfect storm of shrinking labour supply. IGD’s latest analysis, “Food and drink workforce – a quiet crisis building?”, reveals that the industry has moved beyond temporary post-Brexit gaps into a deeper, long-term decline driven by:

• An ageing demographic: a significant portion of the workforce is approaching retirement with no replacement pipeline in sight
• The sickness surge: rising long-term illness among working-age adults is further depleting the talent pool
• Youth disengagement: a staggering 72% of young people (aged 16-25) do not consider the food and drink sector a place to find purpose, despite 78% of them having interests that align with the industry’s roles in AI, engineering, and sustainability.

The three-pillar response

Feeding Britain’s Future is not returning as a simple careers fair, but as a multi-pronged strategic offensive designed to bridge the “Guidance Gap”. The relaunch focuses on four high-impact areas:

• Digital visibility: aggressively increasing the sector’s presence on the platforms young people actually use, moving beyond traditional job boards to social and digital channels.
• University partnerships: establishing strategic ties with higher education to reframe food and drink as a “high-tech, professional, and well-paid” destination.
• Scalable work experience: providing “confidence-building” practical placements to demystify the industry for students.
• Collective voice: uniting the industry under the Mmmake Your Mark campaign — a youth-focused movement that reached 120 million people in 2025 by showcasing the “possibilities, purpose, and progression” of modern food careers.

Calling on the state

Recognising that the industry cannot “solve this alone,” IGD is calling for a strengthened partnership with the government. This includes a push for a National Workforce Strategy for food and drink, a reform of the Growth and Skills Levy, and greater certainty regarding seasonal and skills-based immigration routes.

“This quiet crisis has been building for years, but the pressure is intensifying and will reach a crisis point without a meaningful shift in approach,” warns Naomi Kissman, social impact director at IGD. “We have a responsibility, as the nation’s largest private sector employer, to give young people the future they deserve”.

Sarah Bradbury, CEO of IGD, adds: “If we fail to take collective action, not only will it have a commercial impact for businesses, it also becomes a UK food security issue, affecting accessibility of food and inflation”.

For food manufacturers and retailers, the relaunch offers a toolkit to combat rising burnout and vacancy fill times. By aligning with the Mmmake Your Mark toolkit and school programmes, businesses can actively build their own talent pipelines rather than competing for a dwindling pool of existing workers.

To engage with IGD about getting involved with Feeding Britain’s Future, please contact Harshal Gore, director of economic & workforce programmes: Harshal.gore@igd.com.