On July 11th, Brent was declared a Right to Food Borough.
The initial ‘Brent Right to Food’ petition, launched in July 2021, called for Brent to be a Right to Food Borough with its own Food Justice Strategy.
Just last week, this became a reality with cross-party support in Brent Council as a motion was passed by Leader of the Council, Mohammed Butt.
Why is this important?
- 33% of Brent is living in poverty – far higher than London average of 28%.[1] This means that thousands of individuals across Brent are accessing emergency food aid every week.
- Statistics on child poverty are particularly shocking, translating to over 28,140 children living in poverty.[2] No child deserves to go to bed hungry.
- There are approximately 30 emergency food aid providers across the borough. This is a scandal, as the Right to Food is a basic human right that we should all be afforded.
What happens now?
The next steps are important. A Food Justice Strategy now needs to be developed for the borough – one that addresses the very real issue of food insecurity and supports Brent residents to realise this basic human right.
#BrentRightToFood
#BrentFoodAidNetwork
#RightToFood
[1] https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/data/boroughs/brent-poverty-and-inequality-indicators/
[2] https://www.centreforlondon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LevellingUp_Brent.pdf