At the New Food Summit 2025, we presented the results of the third wave of our special study on how the full-scale war continues to affect Ukrainians’ eating behavior.
The data show that the war keeps reshaping our everyday decisions — from what we put in the shopping basket to how we define a “healthy life.”

The impact of war: Over half of Ukrainians have changed their eating habits

56% of respondents report that their diet has changed due to the war — 7 percentage points more than last year.

The main drivers of this shift are rising prices, psychological stress, and the consequences of attacks that disrupt daily life and routines.

For women and people aged 55+, emotional exhaustion and sleep disturbances have a particularly strong effect, influencing the regularity of meals and food choices.

Food budgets continue to shrink

Despite adapting to the new reality, Ukrainians are still forced to save.
The share of those who have reduced their food expenses has grown from 67% to 72%.
Residents of Kyiv and the Western region, where income levels are traditionally higher, cut their budgets the least, while the East and South show the highest levels of savings.

What do people save on?

Most respondents try to limit sweets, snacks, and delicacies.

Women are more likely to cut back on sweets (54%), while young people are less inclined to save on alcoholic beverages (26%).

Thus, Ukrainians are consciously simplifying consumption, focusing on basic products and minimizing “emotional” purchases.

“The full-scale war has made eating for Ukrainians not just a physiological need but part of a survival mechanism. Through food, we try to bring order to our lives, find stability, and regain a sense of normalcy amid daily stress,” — comments Evgeniya Blyznyuk, sociologist, Founder & CEO of Gradus.

The survey was conducted by Gradus using a self-completed questionnaire in the Gradus mobile application. The sample reflects the structure of the population of cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants aged 18-60 by gender, age, size of the settlement, and region, excluding temporarily occupied territories and territories where active hostilities are taking place. Fieldwork period: wave 1 — October 8, 2024, wave 2 — October 9, 2025. Sample size: 1,000 respondents.