BASW & SWU back UK Right to Food Commission
The Commission will take evidence from around the UK on the scale and scope of food poverty and hunger, with the ultimate aim of setting out a roadmap for delivery of the UK Right to Food Campaign.
It has been established jointly by the Right To Food Campaign, which is led by Ian Byrne MP for Liverpool West Derby, the University of Westminster, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) and the Food and Work Network.
More information about the Commission can be found here.
Parliamentary Launch
BASW Interim CEO, Professor Sam Baron and SWU Vice Chair, Chrissie Beatty attended the launch to formally add BASW and SWU's support to the campaign and the work of the Commission. Sam shares her thoughts and reflections in the blog below.
This week, the UK Right to Food Commission launched in Parliament – a landmark step to place the human right to food back on the national agenda.
After years of austerity, with millions of people increasingly using food banks and over 14 million people experiencing food insecurity, what should have been a temporary crisis has now become accepted. Hunger is not inevitable – it is the result of political choices and in a country where food is not scarce, food poverty then, is a result of injustice
The Commission’s aims are to ‘shine a light’ on the unacceptable nature of food insecurity in Britian, to map out solutions to endemic food insecurity and to apply pressure on the UK Government and devolved administrations to tackle and end food insecurity in the UK.
As I sat and listened to the hard facts rolling and rolling, it was a poignant moment and in many ways a sign of the times whereby food insecurity is so prevalent that we now require a Commission led approach to establish legislation simply to eradicate food poverty. This was definitely a moment of sadness and personal reflection on the years of working with people living in extreme poverty, unable to provide simple meals for themselves and their families whilst also remembering the stigma I experienced as a child growing up without the security of food, instead relying on family friends, free school meals and a disproportionate amount of toast when there was no other alternative.
Food should not be a political outcome or current policies which sees food as a mechanism for crisis management rather than a fundamental human right. For too long, we as a country have relied on the development of local food banks which are now normalised into our everyday experiences. Food is seen as charitable rather than a basic human right and this Commission seeks to change this.
This is a ‘call to action’ for all social workers who have either experienced food insecurity, or work with people who live in desperate poverty; to contribute to making a difference and submitting evidence for the Commission to consider.
The Commission is establishing 6 citizen assemblies in Liverpool, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, London and Newcastle and will take written submissions and evidence in person from the citizen assemblies. This is your chance to get involved, to demonstrate why the sticking plaster of emergency food aid must be replaced with systemic solutions that guarantee food as a fundamental right, enshrined in law.
To read more about the Commissions work, submit evidence or participate in the citizen assemblies please follow the link below.
This is our chance to change the lives of people we work with by placing a fundamental human right into law. By outlining your experiences for the Commission to consider and utilise in its roadmap to legislation, we may just achieve this.
I intend to join the Liverpool Citizen Assembly and will keep you posted!
