The Environmental Audit Committee’s new report, Hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in the UK, finds:
- Food insecurity is significant and growing in the UK, with levels among the worst in Europe, especially for children
- Government has failed to recognise and respond domestically – and has allowed these issues to ‘fall between the cracks’
- Minister for Hunger should be appointed to ensure cross-departmental action
As part of its work with the End Hunger UK campaign coalition, The Trussell Trust submitted evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee.
Responding to the conclusions of the Committee, Emma Revie, chief executive of The Trussell Trust, said:
“We fully support the Committee’s call for a Minister for Hunger and a measurement of food insecurity. A failure to address the root causes of poverty has led to soaring need for food banks, with more than 1.3 million food parcels provided to people by our network last year. It’s not right that anyone in our country faces hunger, and it’s not inevitable.
“It’s time for the government to take concrete steps towards a UK where everyone has enough money for food. Although food bank volunteers are providing vital support to those in crisis, no charity can replace people having enough money for the basics. To end hunger, we need to understand the true scale of the challenge, and work across government to ensure everyone is anchored from being swept into poverty.”
Ends
About The Trussell Trust:
- The Trussell Trust is here to end hunger and poverty in the UK. We support a network of 428 foodbanks, operating out of more than 1200 centres across the UK.
- It takes more than food to end hunger. We do three things: support our network to provide emergency food to people referred; help foodbanks provide additional support to resolve the cause of foodbank referral; and bring together the experiences of hundreds of communities on the frontline to challenge the structural issues that lock people in poverty. We’re campaigning for long-term change so we can see a future without the need for foodbanks.
- Read more at www.trusselltrust.org
