Which can the capital’s food insecurity be addressed?
Nobody ought to be dependent on a food bank in order to provide for their family or themselves. But regrettably, the cost-of-living crisis of today has left far too many people struggling to make ends meet.
The definition of food security is having physical and financial access to a sufficient and healthful diet at all times. For many of us, eating inexpensive and healthful food is a regular part of our lives, but not for everyone. A person is considered food insecure if their eating habits are disturbed and their food intake is decreased as a result of not having enough money or other resources to buy food.
For families with little money, food insecurity is nothing new. But for many Londoners, the situation is becoming much worse due to growing inflation and the pressures of rising costs of living.
Our research
The London Assembly is a 25-person elected body that looks into matters impacting Londoners and examines the Mayor of London’s operations. It is critical that the Mayor is held accountable to the public as the most influential directly elected official in the United Kingdom.
The Mayor’s work on social development, economic development, wealth creation, culture, sport, and tourism in the capital is examined by the London Assembly Economy Committee. In this year of record-breaking food price increases since the 1970s, we set out to investigate the scope, origins, and possible remedies of our city’s food insecurity issue.
We talked to subject-matter specialists as well as individuals who had personally dealt with food insecurity, including after visiting Wandsworth Foodbank. We kept hearing that food banks are having difficulty keeping up with the rising rate of food poverty.
Everyone we spoke with was aware that poverty and broader financial instability are the root causes of food insecurity. At a public meeting, attendees brought up a variety of issues, including inadequate advice services, low pay, issues with Universal Credit, and a lack of job security.
Recognizing London’s shortage of food
The rate of food inflation is still rising quickly. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that in the year ending in March 2023, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 19.2 percent. It was discovered that the cost of hard cheese had increased by 44%, olive oil by 49%, and cucumbers by 52%.
There’s no doubt that this is affecting consumers’ ability to purchase food. According to data tracked by the Food Foundation, the percentage of London households experiencing food insecurity increased from 11.1 percent in April 2022 to 18.1 percent in September 2022.
Food banks and their clients are under pressure due to the rising cost of living. 1.3 million food parcels were distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network throughout the United Kingdom between April and September of 2022. 163,524 of these were given out in London. When compared to the same period in 2021, this represented an increase of 17%.
Anecdotally, I work as a volunteer at a Wimbledon food bank and saw an increase in patronage during the pandemic. People were waiting in line outside the building to pick up food parcels; they were traveling from all over London. Teachers and nurses were using the food bank while sporting baseball caps because they felt stigmatized and ashamed to be there.
These days, foodbanks are a part of the community. Speaking with a number of individuals, we learned that it served as more than just a food bank, with volunteers and staff directing clients to other resources for assistance, guidance on obtaining benefits, and assistance completing paperwork.
Without a doubt, food banks—along with the outstanding employees and volunteers we encountered in Wandsworth—are helping a great deal of people who are truly in need.
However, food banks shouldn’t have to be our only safety net. In fact, Anna Taylor, Executive Director of The Food Foundation, informed us that, despite their increased use, food banks are only the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of food insecurity.
The attendees at our meeting and the food bank visit understood that the primary causes of food insecurity are low income and poverty. They named a number of particular causes, such as low pay, precarious employment, and problems with the benefits program.
We were informed that unfavorable life events can contribute to the development of poverty and food insecurity, and that individuals with disabilities or poor health are more likely than the general population to face food insecurity.
Individuals who had gone through food insecurity spoke to the Committee about the psychological effects of this. Indeed, the Trussell Trust discovered that more than one-third (38%) of the households referred to food banks in London suffered from poor mental health.
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We require a long-term fix.
Making suggestions to the Mayor of London and other authorities about how to improve things for Londoners is a part of what we do. In order to help the mayor and government address food insecurity in the capital, we released a report that included our findings and thirteen suggestions for improvement.
According to the Greater London Authority’s Survey of Londoners 2021–22, households with children have higher levels of food insecurity than households without children, though parents are more likely to experience food insecurity than their children. The Child Poverty Action Group estimates that 210,000 underprivileged children in London do not currently qualify for free school meals.
I have experience teaching in primary schools in some of the most impoverished areas of London, so I am aware of the profound effects that hunger can have on students. They are prone to emotional outbursts, distractions, and tiny-scale reactions. Both a child and a teacher are unable to concentrate on what they are learning. Hunger can have negative effects on a school that affect everyone.
The Mayor declared in February 2023 that he would allocate £130 million to guarantee free school meals for all London primary school students for the 2023–2024 school year. In order to address child food insecurity, we applaud the Mayor’s announcement; however, we also require a long-term fix.
As a result, we have asked the Mayor to give us an update on this work at the beginning of the 2023–24 school year, to provide us updates on a regular basis during the year, and to justify the choice to give primary schools priority over secondary schools. Additionally, after his own funding expires, we want the Mayor to collaborate with the government and London’s local authorities to create plans to increase the number of schools offering free meals.
Free school meals are not given to eligible children automatically; instead, parents must apply to the local government in order for their child to receive them. Although they are not currently registered, an estimated 215,000 schoolchildren in England are eligible for free school meals. Ensuring that all eligible children receive their entitlement to meals is imperative. We want the government to use social security records to automatically enroll people in the Healthy Start program and free school meals in order to ensure that this is the case.
Many families in London and the UK will be concerned about the rising cost of food, especially those who are food insecure.
In order to reduce food insecurity in London and guarantee that everyone has access to reasonably priced and healthful food, we implore the Mayor and the government to take immediate action.