IN 2022-23, 7.2 million households were food insecure in Britain. Currently, 30 per cent of children in England — 4.3 million — are living in poverty. Recent surveys conducted by Survation for the National Education Union reveal that 52 per cent of struggling parents in England are cutting back on their food shopping due to rising costs. Furthermore, 37 per cent of children in England know someone at school who doesn’t have enough to eat.

Globally, we produce one-and-a-half times more than enough food to feed every man, woman, and child on the planet. People go hungry because they are poor and don’t have enough money to buy the food being produced.

There is no scarcity of food. In reality, the scarcity narrative was produced by corporate food regimes to serve their interests through capitalism. Food has transformed from a necessity to a commodity solely for profiting from its high demand. Any resulting detriment to health appears to be collateral damage in favour of corporate greed.

The previous government passed up a real opportunity to address the crisis of food poverty in Britain by failing to implement the recommendations in the report that it commissioned from Henry Dimbleby and turning them into a meaningful national food strategy.

Instead, it produced a weak statement of intent which ended up gathering dust. While the report wasn’t perfect, it had ambition and would have set a direction of travel that would have made a significant difference to the health of the nation, in particular children.

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) is clear that there is no quick fix here, but there are actions that can be taken now to make a start on improving access to healthy nutritious food that is affordable and sustainably produced.

Since 1976, the British government has been required under the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 11) to secure the right to adequate food for everyone in Britain. This is a duty that we would urge the Labour government to take seriously.

A “right to food” Bill, developed in collaboration with the devolved governments, should be enshrined in British law. This rights-based approach will improve the implementation of a comprehensive UK-wide food strategy, as the approach considers both the social and environmental implications of the food system, thus improving the wider health of the population and the planet for the public, now and in the future.

Improving the agri-food system will decrease the prevalence of “food deserts” in urban areas and increase affordable, healthy food access.

The BDA is also campaigning for universal free school meals as part of this strategy. Extending free school meals to all primary pupils can significantly improve children’s diets, nutrition, and educational outcomes.

Evidence shows that universal free school meals increase the uptake of school meals, reduce stigma, and ease financial pressures on families. The benefits of this policy outweigh the costs, as demonstrated by successful examples in London.

Economic analysis projects over £41 billion in benefits against under £24bn in costs over 20 years in England. No child should fall through the net and all children should have at least one hot and nutritious meal every day so this demand should be without question.

What we are asking for is simply the right thing to do for people and planet so the government must take the lead and provide a statutory right to accessible, affordable and nutritious food, universal free school meals for all primary and secondary children and young people, and evidence-based agricultural and food production policies, to ensure food is affordable, healthy, and nature positive.

There is an urgent need to escape the profit-driven junk food cycle, reduce diet-related inequality, and create a long-term shift in our food culture. All of this will of course help to alleviate pressure on our NHS and contribute to the overall health of the economy.

A comprehensive food strategy White Paper and establishing a minister for food and health to work across departments, in particular the Department of Health and Social Care and Defra, would be a real positive step in the right direction.

We cannot allow children to go hungry any longer.

Annette Mansell-Green is director of trade union and public affairs for the British Dietetic Association.