Gemma Ware, a mother-of four from Hartcliffe in Bristol, says giving her children healthy food can be a challenge.

“I wouldn’t say they always get their five-a-day, but what child does?” she said. “I don’t have my five-a-day either, to be honest.”

Geography and topography is an issue for Ware. The nearest big supermarket is a 20-minute, hilly walk away and it’s difficult to heave bags packed with enough supplies to satisfy her children and partner.

There is a McColl’s convenience store nearby but Ware said she found the choice limited and the prices sometimes prohibitive. “It’s hard. The nearest actual fruit and veg shop is probably in Bedminster, which is about three miles from here. It’s a shame we don’t have shops like that around here.”

Hartcliffe, on the very southern fringes of the city, has been identified as being among the most deprived “food deserts” in the UK. Almost half the people who live here do not have access to a car, making it hard for some of them to reach the Morrisons supermarket.

The council ward of Hartcliffe and Withywood is one of the most deprived in Bristol. According to the local authority area profile, just 54% of people eat at least five portions of fruit and veg a day while 60% consume above the recommended amount of sugar and only 71% say they are in good health, compared with 84% for the city as a whole. A man in Hartcliffe and Withywood can expect to live five years less than the average Bristol male.

David Roles, the pastor of the River church in Hartcliffe, said older people without cars were at risk of not being able to easily source the ingredients needed to make a hearty meal. “It’s one of the reasons we run a not-for-profit cafe here,” he said.

Roles was not familiar with the concept of a food desert but appropriately enough the cafe advertises itself as an “oasis”. A filling homemade vegetable soup was going down well on Thursday lunchtime. “We do our best to welcome those in who might need our help,” said Roles.

On the hill above the church is Hartcliffe Community Park Farm. It sells eggs (12 chicken eggs for £1 and goose eggs for £1.50 each), along with homemade chutneys, jam and marmalade.

Farmer Rocky Pearce said he would like to do more and be able to sell more of their produce locally. “But we’ve had our funding cut and things are very difficult,” he said. “The city council ought to be doing more to support ventures like ours.”

However, there are schemes in the area to try to help people eat better, most notably ones run by the Hartcliffe Health and Environment Action Group (HHEAG), which is based at the Gatehouse Centre.

Tasty, healthy and cheap food can be bought there at the charity’s Hive store. Shopkeeper Jane Bowyer was proud to show off the fruit and veg grown on nearby allotments by gardener Adam Hesketh and his team of volunteers. Squashes, apples, pears, rainbow chard and basil were being sold more cheaply at the Hive than at supermarkets.

HHEAG also runs No 10 The People’s Kitchen to teach residents about healthy eating and how to cook. Sessions being held this month include “cooking on a budget” and “feeding the kids”.

The charity’s co-ordinator Sue Walker accepted that despite the best efforts of organisations like hers some people were isolated. “A lot of people don’t have cars and it can be difficult for older people to get to the shops.”

But she did not think it was only about geography. “I think people can be nervous about using fresh ingredients. If something costs £1 to make from scratch but they can buy a ready-made meal for a bit more then they might not risk cooking in case it goes wrong. I think there can be a lack of confidence.”