Important conference event in Glasgow tomorrow - sadly, I can't be there personally - but,
in partnership with the 'Church and Society Council of the Church of
Scotland' and 'The Centre for Human Ecology' ...
...
Faith in Community Scotland
is hosting a conference on responses to food poverty in Scotland; and how
we can potentially move beyond emergency food aid to just and sustainable food
systems.
You can find some
more details on the conference here; including a
flyer for the event here.
To coincide with the conference, myself and my Glasgow opposite-number -
Gordon Matheson - have agreed a
joint statement/commitment on food poverty, which I'll copy below:
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Joint Statement on Food Poverty
by
the Leaders of Edinburgh and Glasgow City Councils
Glasgow and
Edinburgh are committed to eradicating poverty in our cities in all its forms.
Today, most
of those living in poverty are in employment, a consequence of reduced wages
and a proliferation of exploitative zero hours contracts. Many are unable to
find work at all. Changes to the benefit system, including an increased use of
sanctions, delays in processing and low benefit levels are fundamental causes
of growing poverty.
One consequence
of this is food poverty. The combination of low paid or insufficient work,
benefit cuts, rising food and fuel costs and the ‘Poverty Premium’ - which sees the poorest in our communities pay
more for everyday necessities such as food, fuel and credit – has rendered tens
of thousands unable to eat properly.
The recent
report “Food, Fuel and Finance: tackling the poverty premium”, made a series of
recommendations for action at city, Scottish and UK levels and we endorse its
findings. Furthermore, we welcome the work of the Glasgow-based Poverty
Leadership Panel and reaffirm our commitment to delivering its objectives.
Many people
have given food and time to food banks. This
generosity reflects the good will and compassion our cities are famous for.
However, food banks are a crisis response to an immediate problem, not a
sustainable solution to food poverty. In
particular the expansion of the food bank system using ‘waste’ food from the
supermarket system, proposed by a recent All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into
Hunger in the United Kingdom, is deeply flawed.
Experience
elsewhere has shown that when food banks become too well established they
undermine the fundamental rights enshrined in our welfare system. If we become
too reliant upon them we risk a return to charity welfare – this must not
happen.
Both Glasgow
and Edinburgh have thriving community food sectors, including food
cooperatives, community shops, healthy eating groups and projects, growing
projects and community gardens. Both cities are part of the Sustainable Food
Cities network, with Edible Edinburgh and the Glasgow Food Policy Partnership working
across sectors in their respective cities. We believe that community food
sectors have a role to play in tackling food poverty and making access to nutritious, sustainable food a reality for all.
We pledge to
work with all relevant stakeholders – and crucially, this includes those people
with first hand experience of poverty - to ensure that all citizens have access to
sustainable, nutritious food as a matter of course, not as a result of charity.
We believe:
·
Access
to food is a basic human right.
·
Insufficient
food is a symptom of poverty.
·
Food
banks are a crisis response and will not solve the problem of food poverty.
·
Food
waste is not an effective or socially just solution to food poverty.
We will:
·
Continue
to work alongside those with lived experience of poverty to identify solutions.
·
Encourage
the Scottish and UK governments to work in partnership with local government,
communities and the third sector to tackle food poverty and develop a plan to
tackle its causes.
·
Endorse
the recommendations of the Church Action on Poverty report Food, Fuel, Finance
and the findings of Glasgow’s Poverty Leadership Panel.
Councillor Gordon Matheson CBE Councillor Andrew Burns
Leader of Glasgow City Council Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council
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