Minister for hunger needed as poorest families struggle to eat
BORIS Johnson has been urged to appoint a new government minister dedicated to ensuring families have enough to eat.
The recommendation came from MPs, who warned that more families are struggling to afford food as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, and the problem is likely to get worse.
They also warned that the free school meal voucher scheme, due to end when schools return in September, may need to be extended in areas where local lockdowns are introduced.
And they said that empty shelves in the early stages of the pandemic were largely not caused by “panic buying”, but were an inevitable result of people realising they would need to cook more food at home – and something the Government should have foreseen.
The findings were published by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which highlighted reports from food bank charity the Trussell Trust showing more families are struggling to eat.
According to the Trussell Trust, 73,757 three-day emergency food parcels were distributed in the West Midlands region in the six months up to September last year. Demand for food parcels rose by 23 per cent compared to the same period a year previously.
But although regional figures are not yet available, the charity says demand for support shot up in recent months, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.
There was an 89 per cent increase in need for emergency food parcels during April
2020, compared to the same month last year. And there was a 107 per cent rise in parcels given to children. In other words, the number of food bank parcels for children more than doubled.
In its State of Hunger report, The Trussell Trust found that “there are higher rates of food bank use in former industrial urban areas in the North and Midlands, some coastal towns, and a range of London boroughs”. The Trussell Trust is the largest national food bank charity, but the figures do not include food parcels provided by the many smaller and more local charities and community organisations.
MPs warned that the problem of what is known as food insecurity is likely to continue even though the lockdown has largely eased.
They said: “The Government should appoint a Minister for Food Security, empowered to collect robust data on food insecurity and draw together policy across departments on food supply, nutrition and welfare. The Government should continue to measure and report levels of food insecurity across the country.
“The Government should also consult on whether a ‘right to food’ should be given a legislative footing as a matter of great urgency, in anticipation of increasing challenges to the food security of the nation post-Covid-19.”
They also pointed out that further school closures may be necessary, following the local lockdown in Leicester, and called on the Government to make the free school meal voucher scheme more flexible.
The vouchers, which replace free school meals for parents while children are away from school, were originally due to end once the summer holidays began earlier this month, and the scheme has already been extended once.
When the policy was first introduced, vouchers could only be spent at major supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons,
Waitrose and Marks and Spencer, although other retailers were later added.
The MPs said: “Schools should be allowed to provide vouchers for whichever retailers serve their community best, without financial penalty.”
And they said that the empty supermarket shelves seen in the early days
of the coronavirus crisis were a rational and predictable response to the situation, which the Government should have prepared for.
“Increased consumer demand for food in February and March left empty shelves and put immense pressure on retailers. Once the crisis hit, Government worked well with the retailers to quickly put in place measures to respond.
“However, the Government does not appear to have anticipated the situation, despite the experience of other countries. Increased buying was, in our view, not because of “panic” but largely a reasonable and predictable response to the expectation that more meals would need to be eaten at home.
“The Government could have made more effort to provide early public reassurance about food supply and should do so in the event of further lockdowns or restrictions.”