Time for Food Justice!

East Sussex Branch met in November and committed ourselves to supporting the Co-op Party's national campaign around Food Poverty.   The Party is asking local members to commit to five areas of campaign activity: 

TAKE INSPIRATION FROM COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO FOOD POVERTY:

Excitingly, communities are developing and designing their own responses to food poverty, and many have a co-operative ethos.

With a topic as vast as food poverty it can be overwhelming knowing where to begin in your own community and having an awareness of what others are doing can help. Here are some practical suggestions for your local community:  more details on each can be found by clicking here

• Set up an Incredible Edible
• Support community produce and local markets 
• Grow the community and co-operative allotment movement 
• Explore Buy local and Buy Social initiatives 
• Embrace Fairtrade policy and status 
• Start a Community Fridge (already two established in Eastbourne- at Devonshire West and Langney- see here)
• Look into an Affordable Food Box scheme 
• Start a Community Kitchen

WORK WITH YOUR LOCAL FOOD PARTNERSHIP (or set one up!): 

There are many successful food partnerships alliances across the country.

Sustain and Feeding Britain both support and encourage them - you can see their maps showing coverage here and here.   Eastbourne has an established Food Partnership which you can find out about here,  whilst Hastings' can be contacted here

If your area has a food partnership then a lead member for food poverty is ideally placed to work closely with them. Where there is not yet a food partnership, a lead member for food poverty would be well placed to convene one.

GET A MEASURE OF THE PROBLEM:

We welcome the recent victory of campaigners in persuading the Government to measure food insecurity nationally, but frustratingly there is little granular evidence of the extent of hunger at a local level.

Councils, community leaders and Co-operative Party members can play an important role in pulling together what data there is and looking at new ways to measure the scale of the problem which will shape their responses to it.

Typically, measuring the scale of the problem would form part of developing a Food Action Plan. However, there are forms of food mapping which can be done with limit resources and can be done irrespective of whether you intend to develop an Action Plan.

WORK WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR OTHER ORGANISATIONS TO DRAW UP A FOOD ACTION PLAN:

Food Action Plans (or strategies) address food poverty bringing together what statutory agencies and the community, voluntary and social enterprise (VSCE) sectors offer by way of expertise and practical action.

In many cases they have come about due to a particular crisis, but they generally also deal with longer term structural issues.

Food Action Plans come in all shapes and sizes. Some are developed by the council and may sit inside a broader anti-poverty plan, others by the community or the Food Alliance and are community-owned. Some are backed by an extensive evidence base, others focus on practical steps. We make no recommendation as to what is the best approach given that the needs and resources for each area are hugely different, but we do believe that it is important to put a plan together.

You can download a model Local Food Action Plan from Sustain by clicking here

GET YOUR LOCAL COUNCIL TO DESIGNATE A LEAD MEMBER FOR FOOD JUSTICE:

At present food poverty is often split between directorates and portfolios within local authorities, despite being a growing problem.

Half of councils do not have a dedicated lead member for food poverty, yet we know that having a named person brings focus and attention to any topic. That is why we suggest that councils should consider adding the explicit responsibility for food poverty to a lead member's portfolio.

According to our research, councils which have a single lead member for food were far more likely to work closely with a local food alliance, partnership or network. That's one other reason we think designating a lead member with responsibility for food justice is an important first step for councils seeking to tackle hunger in their area.  If your local council has not yet done this, please lobby your councillor.

Find out more about the Co-operative Party's national campaign around Food Justice by clicking here to visit the campaign website. 

Food price rises biting ? The Co-operative Solution...

The potential of community food co-operatives was the subject of a discussion at the recent East Sussex Co-operative Party meeting.

More and more communities are setting up food co-ops so they can get good food at an affordable price and have more control over where their food comes from.

Co-operation is all about two or more people joining forces and working together to achieve something they probably couldn't do on their own.

In the case of food co-ops a group of people join forces in order to be able to buy foods they may otherwise find it hard to get hold of at a price they can afford. By volunteering their time and pooling their buying power they can get produce direct from local farmers or wholesalers.

You can find out more about Food Co-ops on the website Foodcoops.org

There is also a superb toolkit on setting up a local food co-op project, on the Sustainweb website here.

 

Co-op MP's highlight Food Banks

The rising need for foodbanks- particularly for working families was highlighted in a recent House of Commons debate led by Co-operative MP Luciana Berger.

Labour and Co-operative members showed up in numbers, creating what one MP described as a ‘tour de force’.  On the opposing side, Conservatives were only represented by one front-bench member who consistently seemed to be out-gunned by Labour and Co-operative members.

The debate shed light on the growing problem of food poverty and the massive increase of visitors at local food banks.  As one MP explained, “In this country, more people are facing food poverty in work than those out of work”. 

Several Co-operative Party MPs participated in the debate including Luciana Berger, Andy Sawford, Stephen Doughty, Meg Hillier, Chris Evans, and Jonathan Reynolds.  Co-operative MPs were in strong agreement that the increase in food bank attendees and supermarket prices is a direct result of the current government’s policies.

Members concurred that this crisis is an absolute tragedy in the 21st century and that immediate action ought to be considered.  Despite the enormous challenge presented, MPs were able to discuss ways in which co-operative action can be beneficial to solving the problem.  Campaigns such as the Co-operative Group’s You CAN Help were mentioned and several other instances were mentioned when communities have created partnership with local farming and agricultural bodies.

You can read the full report here.

Locally, the Eastbourne Foodbank does a tremendous job- and has helped over 6,500 people over the past 18 months.   They highlight the fact that over 3,850 children currently live in poverty in Eastbourne. You can find out more about their work, including how you can help, by clicking here.