UNIONS have agreed to campaign to enshrine the right to food in law.

The radical proposals, agreed at TUC Congress in Brighton on Tuesday, would impose a legal duty to ensure nutritious food for all.

Food price inflation has risen, with grocery costs up by 2.3 per cent, and is expected to peak at 6.4 per cent next July.

Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU) general secretary Sarah Woolley told Congress that people are going hungry because they cannot afford food.

She said: “People are going hungry, not because there isn’t enough food, but because they don’t have enough income, security or protection to afford it.

“Let’s stop pretending that ending hunger is unaffordable. The expensive option is continuing with hunger.

“We already pay the price through ill health, pressure on our public services, lost productivity, poorer educational outcomes and human suffering.

“The choice is whether we invest in prevention, dignity and security, or continue paying for failure.”

Ms Woolley is a member of the Right to Food Commission, which will investigate food poverty and create a roadmap for a legally enforceable Right to Food in Britain by 2035.