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Addressing the rising tide of food insecurity in the UK
“Cash first” approaches to food poverty, where cash payments are given to people so that they can purchase food, works for some. But as FAWN member Dr Megan Blake argues, cash transfers can also go toward other priorities, such as debt or rent, rather than food. They do not improve health, job prospects or long-term income of those in need
Reconnecting Agroecology and the Labour Movement
The Food and Work Network, supported by the Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network at Birkbeck, University of London, held a day of discussion at the Organiclea Workers’ Cooperative in Chingford in May. Rowan Lubbock reports on the political debates between degrowth and productivist socialism, focusing on tensions between industrial and agroecological food production models.
Piloting Ultra-Low Food Waste Zones: The Case of Somers Town in Camden, London
Lifeafterhummus runs a social supermarket and re-use center in Somers Town, a central London community affected by recent regeneration and the arrival of the UK Google HQ. Despite this, it still faces high levels of deprivation. Farrah Rainfly discusses how data analysis provides a chance for Somers Town to lead in reducing food waste for Camden and beyond.
Diversities and Obscurities in the UK food system: Benefits of a Place-Based Approach
Food and Network member Omotomilola Ajetunmobi’s recent doctoral research shows how important migrant communities are to place-making across the country.
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.
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation/ BFAWU Course Review
In March 2020, my employer, the pub chain JD Wetherspoon was forced to shut its pubs immediately when the UK lockdown began. Government furlough payment plans were still being finalised, but unlike many other hospitality industry employers, JD Wetherspoon refused to pay its staff while they waited for the furlough money to come through. At that time no one knew how long that would take. The advice given to staff in a video sent to us from boss Tim Martin was to get a job at Tesco.
Join the movement for Free School Meals for All
FREE SCHOOL MEALS FOR ALL
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Ian Mearns: “Fighting the Corner for Food Workers”
This blog is the address from Ian Mearns, MP for Gateshead to the Annual Conference of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union 12th June 2023. He updated conference on the main debates and developments from the BFAWU Parliamentary Group during the last year.
FAWN Workshop III: Child Food Poverty and Whole-Food Chain Organisation
The third Food and Work Network workshop took place on May 18 at the University of Sheffield.
The corporate food system must be democratised!
Dr Jason Edwards reviews Ravenous: How to get ourselves and our planet into shape by Henry Dimbleby with Jemima Lewis, published by Profile
The Campaign for a Right to Food Act and the Indivisibility of Human Rights
The UK is one of the richest countries in the world and yet food insecurity blights the lives of millions of its residents. In this context, under the banner of the 'Right to Food Campaign', community organisations, unions, and NGOs are turning to a new tool – the human right to food – in an effort to force the government to act.
Food workers and Low pay
In 2021 Unity Consulting Scotland conducted a membership survey on behalf of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU). Survey results showed a clear link between low pay, insecure work and food insecurity. This was the catalyst for the creation of the Food and Work Network (FAWN) and in this blog we examine the appalling behaviour of two major food production companies towards their former employees.
Community Restaurants to Universal Rights: food as an intersectional struggle
The third of the Food and Work Network’s (FAWN’s) series of ‘knowledge exchange’ workshops took place at Liverpool Hope University in February 2023. Funded by the British Academy-Leverhulme Trust, this workshop brought together academics researching aspects of the food system in the UK, along with trade unionists and community activists with lived experience to share their knowledge and insight into how access to food can be problematic.
Making Work of the Right to Food - Food and Work Network (FAWN)
The United Kingdom has a serious food problem. It is the world’s fifth largest economy, yet in early 2023 almost one in five households, including 9.7 million adults and 4 million children have experienced food insecurity.