25,000 poorer Londoners missing out on £6million that could reduce food poverty

• First ever food poverty league table for London boroughs reveals postcode lottery for poorer Londoners
• Only one third of London boroughs have a distinct plan to tackle food poverty

The report presents a mixed picture of progress and some worrying gaps in London’s safety net.[3] The total scores for how well boroughs are doing on tackling food poverty vary between 17 and 79 per cent.[4]

There is also a significant shortfall in the number of Londoners benefiting from a range of national and local programmes that could help tackle food poverty including Healthy Start vouchers, food provision during the school holidays and meals on wheels. For example, the report shows  how over 25,000 London households are losing out on over £6 million worth of Healthy Start vouchers, which would help low income families to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.[5] This programme should be championed more consistently across the capital.

The report includes a number of good practice examples and sets out specific actions which London boroughs can take including:

• Developing  a comprehensive plan to reduce food poverty [6]
• Promoting uptake of national programmes, including Heathy Start vouchers, Baby-Friendly accreditation, free school meals and financial support
• Maximising their role as a commissioning and oversight body, for example by drawing together partners to tackle hunger during the school holidays; maximising the value of meals on wheels; fostering local access to affordable healthy food; and expanding the London Living Wage

Simon Shaw, Food Poverty Campaign Coordinator at Sustain said:

“Our report sets out a number of ways which London boroughs can address the drivers behind food poverty. We know that local authority budgets are under pressure, but taking action to prevent food poverty can make real differences to the lives of those most in need. I encourage all London boroughs to develop and implement a food poverty action plan which includes recommendations from our report.”

Matthew Ryder, Deputy Mayor for Social Integration, Social Mobility and Community Engagement said:

"The Mayor and I find it unacceptable that in a city as prosperous as London, so many people are unable to afford to feed themselves and their families. We commend everyone for all the work highlighted in today’s important report. It shows the real progress that’s been made by London’s local authorities in tackling this problem. However, it highlights the fact that there is plenty more to do to end food poverty in the capital and City Hall will be working closely with the boroughs and other partners to support them as they tackle this crucial issue. But we know that local authorities can't do this alone. Government also needs to do more to recognise the growing scale of the problem and take action. We hope this report will underline how important and urgent this is."

London is often seen as an affluent city, and an engine of wealth-creation for the rest of the UK. But this perception masks high levels of deprivation and extreme levels of inequality. Food poverty is part of this darker picture.[7]

Contacts and spokespeople

Sustain / London Food Link
Simon Shaw, Food Poverty Campaign Coordinator
simon@sustainweb.org / 0203 5596 777
Out of hours: 07941 358 586

Greater London Authority
Jonathan Weisgard, Senior Press Officer, Mayor of London's Press Office
Jonathan.Weisgard@london.gov.uk / 0207 983 4635 / 07825 865276
Out of hours: 020 7983 4000

Children’s centres and Alexandra Rose vouchers in Lambeth
Jonathan Pauling, Chief Executive
jonathan@alexandrarose.org.uk / 7977 068 655

Alexandra Rose can offer a visit to Brixton Market including an interview with Jonathan Pauling a member of LB Lambeth’s public health team and market traders involved in the scheme.

Notes for editors

1. Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity. We represent around 100 national public interest organisations working at international, national, regional and local level, and work with hundreds more on local initiatives to improve the food system. The report was funded by Trust for London. See https://www.sustainweb.org/foodpoverty/. Today we are launching the report at City Hall, alongside the sixth Good Food for London report and launching the Local Government Declaration on Healthier Food and Sugar Reduction.
2. 28 London boroughs responded to Sustain’s written survey. Five boroughs declined to respond. The data for some of the measures was also verified by partner organisations. The nine measures are:

• Increase the uptake of Healthy Start vouchers
• Promote breastfeeding to boost the health of infants and mothers
• Harness the value of children’s centres to help families eat healthily and avoid food poverty
• Ensure low-income families have adequate access to childcare
• Provide meals 365 days a year to children in low-income families
• Become a London Living Wage employer and promote the London Living Wage
• Ensure all residents have physical access to good food
• Support and enhance meals on wheels provision
• Develop an action plan to tackle food poverty

3. Four London boroughs have a food poverty action plan and seven are currently developing one.
4. See pages 4-5 of the report which outlines the rationale around scoring; scores against each measure were weighted equally.
5. In the period Oct 2015- Sept 2016, the estimated lost value by eligible households not claiming their entitlement is over £6,170,000 (if there was 100% uptake) or over £2,413,000 (if London met the national target of 80% uptake).
6. The Greater London Authority is inviting applications from London boroughs for the development of Food Poverty Action Plans. Five boroughs will be selected for the award of grant funding of up to £5000 each for Food Poverty Action Plan support. Please see www.london.gov.uk.
7. Food poverty can be defined as the inability to afford, or to have access to, food to make up a healthy diet (Department of health). It is also important that people can access food in a way which is dignified and socially acceptable.  When people struggle to feed themselves adequately and nutritiously, it undermines health and educational attainment and ultimately contributes to pressure on services. The 110,000 3-day food aid packages given out in London by Trussell Trust food banks in 2015-16 represents the tip of the iceberg of food poverty in the capital (https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/latest-stats/). Many more Londoners are hungry or concerned about where their family’s next meal will come from. As many as 8.4 million people in the UK struggle to get enough to eat (http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4830e.pdf) and 680,000 children in London live in poverty (http://www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/LPP%202015%20findings.pdf).

Attending the launch event at City Hall

The report will be launched during an event starting at 1pm on Tuesday 15 November at City Hall. Please contact Simon Shaw ASAP to be added to the guest list. Unregistered attendees will not be able to be admitted.