Getting Election Ready: Making the Hunger Crisis a Key Issue

In January 2024 the Food and Work Network (FAWN) entered the belly of the beast, and headed into the Westminster Parliament for a discussion on “Keeping the Hunger Crisis on the Agenda: At the General Election and Beyond”, in an event sponsored by Ian Byrne MP.     

Introducing the Food and
Work Network (FAWN)

Chairing the meeting, Prof Alex Colas from Birkbeck University welcomed a mixed group of trade unionists, academics, policymakers and community activists and explained the mission of FAWN in linking up these diverse audiences in relation to three key sites of analysis:  workplace, community and household.       

The catalyst – BFAWU

Sarah Woolley, General Secretary of the Bakers, Food, and Allied Workers union related how the union came to help initiate FAWN, following a survey of food sector workers published as the Foodworkers on the Breadline report.  This showed how many people whose working lives centred around the manufacturing and retail of food were worried about feeding their own families, and were skipping meals or even turning to food banks themselves.  FAWN attempts to understand this twofold impact on food workers as both producers and consumers, in a system which is fundamentally broken.

Reform is crucial – across the board 

This message was amplified by Prof Lydia Hayes of the University of Liverpool, who spoke of her collaboration with Feeding Liverpool around the Without Access to Justice report. On the basis of detailed surveys of food bank users, the report identified that a fundamental lack of justice – in the workplace, in the welfare system and wider community – raised huge obstacles for households struggling to feed themselves.  It makes a series of concrete recommendations in relation to addressing the root causes of the demand for food banks crucially; addressing pay, conditions, rights at work and the impact of welfare sanctions.   The report calls on government to introduce a statutory Right to Food and Universal Free School Meals.   It remains to be seen whether any of the main political parties will be prepared to offer these basic reforms in their manifesto commitments to end the blight of food poverty in the UK.  But, whilst vital, it’s not just about central government action.  The report also has recommendations for employers, local authorities, trade unions and food aid providers.    

Universal free school meals

Emma Rose, National Education Union Deputy General Secretary, told the meeting that teachers are regularly confronted by pupils who turn up to school hungry and this can only have a detrimental impact on their learning.  Added to this is the stigma which is often felt by those children in receipt of free school meals.   At present only a fraction of those households claiming Universal Credit are eligible.   Emma reported that the NEU’s campaign, together with the Daily Mirror, has seen the issue become a big focus of attention, and praised London Mayor Sadiq Khan for piloting such a scheme in the capital.   The focus now must be on getting the parties to take up this demand on a national level.

No discrimination

Whilst supporting the idea that all children should be entitled to free school meals, Dr Jasber Singh of Coventry University highlighted the discriminatory policy of No Recourse to Public Funds which means that children whose parents are stuck in the asylum system or lack settled status can face being excluded from entitlements only offered to “citizens”.  He highlighted that alongside campaigning for the Right to Food, we need to understand that people risk being left excluded and facing destitution because they lack the “right to have rights”.

The battle for real change is underway

Ian Byrne MP thanked everyone for their contributions and praised the work of FAWN in bringing a diverse range of voices together.  Ian stressed that there would be a battle to be fought hard before and after the election.  With school kitchens often having been closed or catering outsourced to the likes of Compass and Sodexo, we need to ensure that good school meals are being provided without the state subsidising corporate profits.   We need a joined-up strategy around local procurement and community kitchens, he argued.

The event was a useful opportunity to meet new faces and share our ideas.  Amongst those coming to meet attendees were Daniel Zeichner (Shadow Food Minister) and Justin Madders (Shadow Employment Minister).   Whilst we certainly have work to do to get our priorities reflected in the party manifestos, FAWN has shown we can gather credible voices together to demand real change.