An exploration of the UK's food security challenges, highlighting the stark reality of food insecurity among millions and the government's recent efforts to address farm-level surplus redistribution.
The writer is CEO of FareShare, the food charity. This article is part of the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign joint seasonal appeal with Magic Breakfast. We talk a lot about food at this time of year — turkey or mince pies — but it’s food security that is leading the news. We know that a shocking 10 million people in the UK face food insecurity, meaning they do not have consistent access to affordable, nutritious food.
Then, last month, the government warned that the climate crisis posed a serious risk to the UK’s food security. Meanwhile, farmers drove tractors through Westminster in protest, arguing a weakened farming sector threatens the UK’s ability to produce its own food. Through FareShare’s network of 8,300 charities, 34 regional centres, and 26,000 volunteers, our food reaches a million people each year. These include children’s breakfast clubs, older people’s lunch groups and grassroots organisations tackling isolation and hardship. But we still struggle to access enough food to meet demand. This is despite the fact that the UK wastes 12.8 million tonnes of surplus food annually, accounting for 6-7 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions. A quarter of this, 3 million tonnes, is wasted even before it leaves the farm, yet less than 20 per cent of farmers distribute excess food to charities. Following years of campaigning by FareShare and The Felix Project, it is promising that the government recently announced £15 million for farm-level surplus redistribution — an acknowledgment of the importance of food at this time of year. And it demonstrates that surplus food is not only a problem, but an opportunity. Redistributing food has a profound social impact. Last year, we provided 135 million meals to 8,357 charities such as Wigan Youth Zone, which offers meals to children alongside enriching activities that include basketball and drama classes
FOODSECURITY FARMING SURPLUSFOOD CHARITIES CLIMATECHANGE
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