The right to food is surely one of the most fundamental of building blocks if we aspire to be a decent society. Indeed it was food poverty and the need for affordable, nutritious food for all that was one of the key drivers for developing Cooperatives nearly 200 years ago.
And yet here we are in 2021, in the sixth-richest country on earth, and some people are going hungry. It is estimated that up to 8,000,000people in the UK are having trouble putting food on the table. At least 500,000 people in the UK used food banks in the past year, and 1,000,000 people in the UK are living in “food deserts”
There is no doubting that Local councils have done incredible work over the past few months, stepping up during the pandemic to help those struggling with food poverty. Local Authorities have done everything from delivering food parcels to providing free school meals as they try to plug the gaps in the face of Government inaction.
With a second lockdown upon us and an uncertain future ahead, we must work together to ensure that the extraordinary efforts of the past few months are the foundations of a more sustainable future.
There are challenges ahead. It seems inevitable that the UK’s food supply will over time be affected by Brexit and we need to be making urgent preparations to ensure we maintain a safe, adequate and sustainable food supply.
Local Authorities have a key role to play in this. It has been recommended Food Resilience should be part of Local Authorities’ Food Plans so that we can anticipate and negate the impact of Brexit on food security. Bridge the information gap and engage with the public on this most fundamental of issues.
We know that food security is complex. It may start with issues such as availability, access, and affordability, but in time issues such as the economics and sociology of food production, transportation, consumption, and waste, along with diet and health, become increasingly important.
There are ever greater crises of food excess and famine in a world of growing inequality. The impact of food production methods on global inequalities and climate change is also becoming increasingly clear. Food Security must surely go hand in hand with ideas of sustainable development.
Local Government can become the voice for this range of food issues and keep Central Government both better informed and more accountable.
It was in response to all of this that the Cooperative Party launched the Food Justice Campaign at our Common Decency themed conference in 2018. The Conference determined that the Party should call for a Right to Food, tackle food poverty locally, and campaign at all levels of government for change. The central importance of Local Government was a core theme throughout.
The Food Justice Campaign called on the Government to implement a Right to Food and to Incorporate Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero hunger by 2030) into UK Law. Lobbying is continuing.
Perhaps more importantly the Campaign also called on Local Government to:
- Designate a Lead Member for food poverty. Promote the use of the Food Justice Finder so that the Lead Member is known
- Draw up a food action plan
- Build on the many examples of community responses to food poverty
- Work with your local food partnership or set one up
- Get a real measure of the problem locally
So far only about 47% of county or shire councils have a food champion, whilst 37% work with a food partnership. There is much more to do
I would urge people to use the Food Justice Finder and find out who your local Food Poverty Lead is. If your Local Authority doesn’t have one, lobby them to appoint one and take steps towards food justice.
Food security and food poverty are some of the most pressing challenges we face in the post pandemic, post Brexit world, where the realities of climate change are pressing in upon us. The time for local action is now, the time for working together is now.
Chris Bain 