Food Poverty: A right to good food beyond foodbanks?

A right to good food Beyond Foodbanks?BelfastMonday 11 January

Welcome and purpose of event Niall Cooper, Director Church Action on Poverty

with and

• No one in the UK should go hungry• Government should do more to

tackle food poverty.. In fact• People have a right to food• Together we can build a powerful

food justice movement in the UK

The Right to FoodAddressing Food Poverty in the UK: Charity, Rights and WelfareDr Hannah Lambie-Mumford

The Right to Food“The right to adequate food is realised when every man, woman and child, alone or in community with others, have physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement.”

The Right to Food

Why are you here? What excites you about it?

Geoff Tansey Chair of the Commission

Commissioners

• Geoff Tansey, chair Trustee, Food Ethics Council & Curator, Food Systems Academy

• Niall Cooper, Director, Church Action on Poverty

• Tara Garnett, Founder and Director of Food Climate Research Network

• Diana Holland, Assistant General Secretary, Unite• Andrew Kuyk, Former Director of Sustainability, Food & Drink Federation

• Dr John Middleton, Former Vice President, UK Faculty of Public Health

• Jeanette Orrey, Co-Founder, Food for Life Partnership

Five Key principles

1. Everyone in the UK should have secure access to nutritious, sustainable food they can afford, and nobody should live in a state of household food insecurity.

Five Key principles

2. Food banks and other forms of charitable food provision should become unnecessary by 2020.

Five Key principles

3. Decent work is the best way of achieving sustainable food security for most households, but the social security system also has an important role to play for many both in and out of work.

Five Key principles

4. The links between low income and diet-related ill health should be broken.

Five Key principles

5. People on low incomes should be protected from price rises and other potential negative consequences arising from the essential action needed to address the long-term environmental, health and workforce challenges of the food system.

Key recommendations (14 in all)

1. Coordinated action to realise the right to food

2. Measuring and tackling food insecurity

3. Incomes, low pay, benefits and Poverty Premium

4. Action on public health, sugar, advertising,

and sustainability

5. Food access and local food action plans

What are the key issues?

Mental health, well-being , exclusion (8)

Beyond foodbanks, advice etc (7)Valuing food (4)Education, cooking skills (8)

Food industry/system, price, access, advertising etc (14)

Poverty Premium, fuel/housing costs (6)

Government strategy, policy, measurement (6)

Empowerment, rights (7)

Social stigma, media (6)

Better local coordination (3)Tension between practical action,

campaigning and research(4)

Ideology and capitalism (2)

Family, holiday hunger and health (4)

Benefit delays, sanctions, cuts (26)

Low pay, insecurity, zero hours, holiday hunger (16)

• Worth: Valuing people, valuing food

• Work: Valuing peoples’ work

• Welfare: Valuing people’s welfare

How do these issues chime with what you are facing? Is there anything missing?

Right to Food / Beyond Foodbanks campaign? What kind of action are we up for taking together?

What kind of action?• Giving voice to real experts• Mobilising our supporters• Local food poverty reduction plans• Coordinated lobbying of politicians• World Food Day: 16 October• Right to Food Bill

Movement building• Training/resources to enable local

champions to coordinate campaign locally• Training/resources for local partners in

giving a voice to those affected• Local food poverty partnerships• Fun/entry level actions (wristbands etc)• Website and social media presence

Right to Food / Beyond Foodbanks campaign? What kind of action are we up for taking together?

What’s in a name?• Right to food campaign• End Hunger UK/etc

Next steps…

Thank you and goodbye