'Crisis' of food poverty 'reaching tipping point' in Rotherham
The council's calling for a Right to Food to be enshrined in law
Last updated 5th Mar 2021
It's claimed a "crisis" of food povery has reached a "tipping point" in Rotherham as the council calls for a change in the law to tackle it.
Stats show more than 4,700 parcels were handed out by the town's foodbank in just 12 months and the pandemic's made demand soar even more.
Since January 2020 more than 500 people have had to rely on handouts but councillors fear the true number of households in need is much higher.
The town's now become the first in the UK to back a campaign calling on the government to enshrine the Right To Food in law.
A motion backing the campaign was passed at a council meeting this week.
Councillor Dave Sheppard, who put it forward, said:
"The United Kingdom is the fifth largest economy in the world but that's no use as a title if you haven't got food in your house to feed yourselves and the people who depend upon you. There is all the wealth and yet it's completely kept away from the vast majority of people and that's given so many families real hardship.
"One in seven households in the UK with children are in food poverty. That's food poverty where you're looking at compromising the quality and variety of food, reducing quantities, parents skipping meals so their children can eat and real hunger. How that can happen here in 2021 is unforgivable."
The passing on the motion means Sarah Norman, the chief executive of Rotherham Council, will now write to Henry Dimbelby, asking for the right to food to be included in his National Food Strategy.
Councillor Sheppard says the pandemic's brought the issue of food poverty into focus but it's been growing for years already:
"Two million people needed foodbanks to be there for them last year. It was 913,000 seven years ago. So it's not something that's happened overnight - it's been growing. But the effects of the pandemic are only going to exacerbate the problem. We're going to see even greater need.
"You can't isolate food poverty from general poverty. They go hand-in-hand. If you don't have enough money coming into your household you're looking for heating or eating. With soaring housing and fuel costs, food poverty is one element of it. But it's a fundamental human right surely - we should all enjoy the right to nutritious food."
Liverpool and Macnhester's local authorities have already pledged their support for the Right To Food campaign but Rotherham has become the first town to do so.