A timely meeting as the Cost of Living and Health crises deepen:
We don’t think anyone in Brent should go hungry.
What are the best ways to organise in Brent for food justice and security?
Brent Right to Food want to hear your ideas to develop a local food strategy.
We know there is a huge increase in demand for help from Food Banks and Brent Mutual Aid.
This will get worse as living costs rise and force families to choose between heating and eating.
WHAT IS FOOD POVERTY?
In 2005 the Department of Health defined it as “the inability to afford, or have access to, food to make up a healthy diet”. The Food Foundation [1] says it is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.”
Food poverty affects so many of us - including working parents, pensioners, people with disabilities, zero-hours contract workers and anyone unemployed.
You may be one of the 11 million people in food poverty in the UK. Brent Poverty Commission found that in 2020 up to 1 in 3 households (17% - 33%) in this Borough live below the poverty line and 22-43% of Brent’s children live in poverty. The pandemic has made this worse.
Food poverty has a major impact on our health – hunger, malnutrition and obesity can lead to diet-related illness far beyond childhood and impacts on our mental health. Studies have shown that poor diet is also linked to disability and earlier death. [2]
Key Factors in Food Poverty
· Low income - people simply cannot afford to buy food
· Variable quality of affordable food on offer
· Lack of support for nutrition, budgeting and cooking skills
· More support needed from suppliers and regulators.
Most of us acknowledge the problem – so now we need to tackle it together
Your ideas are welcome at the Brent Right to Food Summit
on 12th March at Newman College, Harlesden Road NW10 3RN 4-7pm..
BUSES 206, 226. 260, 266, 18 / Bus 187 from Harlesden station [ Overground and Bakerloo Line].
ALL WELCOME Free entry - use the link for your ticket.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/brent-right-to-food-summit-tickets-268924559597
Sat, 12 March 2022 16:00 – 19:00 GMT
Newman Catholic College
Harlesden Road London NW10 3RN
An afternoon of discussion and debate on the Right to Food, and how it can be implemented in the London Borough of Brent.
With participation from:
· Dee Woods, Granville Community Kitchen
· Rajesh Makwana, Sufra NW London
· Kemi Akinola, Be Enriched
· Katie Pascoe, Let's Grow Brent
· Clive Baldwin, Human Rights Watch
· Anne Kittappa, Brent Senior Policy Officer
[1] [Food Insecurity Tracking | Food Foundation says:
“Food insecurity (sometimes referred to as food poverty) is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. To assess the impact of household food insecurity across the UK, The Food Foundation has been commissioning a series of nationally representative surveys since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. We track and report on people’s experiences of food insecurity particularly focusing on at risk groups such as families, BAME and ethnic groups, people with disabilities and children on Free School Meals.”
