Food poverty in London

The London Assembly is deeply concerned by the increasing level of food poverty in London. 63,367 Londoners were fed by a Trussell Trust food bank in the eight months between April 2013 and January 2014. With four months of the financial year still to run, this already represents a near 400% increase in the number of Londoners turning to emergency food aid compared to two years ago (2011/12), when 12,839 people visited a Trussell Trust food bank in London.

This Assembly believes that this level of poverty and food insecurity is unacceptable in the world’s sixth wealthiest city. We call on the Mayor to take a strategic lead on this issue and to implement the relevant recommendations of the ‘Zero-Hunger City: Tackling food poverty in London’ report published with cross-party support by the London Assembly Health and Environment Committee.  In particular, we call on the Mayor to revise the London Food Strategy and implementation plan as a matter of urgency and to publish a paper on the possible models for delivering universal healthy school meals in London.