<p>This article presents a novel numerical approach for solving singularly perturbed Volterra–Fredholm integro-differential equations of the reaction-diffusion type. An adaptive mesh is combined with the finite difference method and the composite trapezoidal rule, resulting in an efficient solution to this problem. The adaptive mesh is generated using the grid equidistribution method, which successfully handles the perturbation parameter and resolves issues encountered by traditional numerical methods. Examples that illustrate the pertinent features and superior performance of the method are presented, and the results of study are discussed. Numerical results confirm the second-order uniform convergence theoretically guaranteed for the proposed method, demonstrating its effectiveness. Overall, the scheme offers an efficient solution for solving singularly perturbed Volterra–Fredholm integro-differential equations.</p>