A Citizen Advisory Council (CAC) working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a report, 'From the Ground Up', calling for a new approach to food to create a fairer, more equal country. The report is based on meetings with more than 80 people across England and is backed by new polling from More In Common, commissioned by The Food Foundation and the Food Farming and Countryside Commission.
Public Consensus for Government Action on Food
The polling reveals striking cross-party consensus: less than one in ten people (7%) think the food system works well and should be left as it is. More than two in three (69%) say the government should do more to make sure food is healthy, including 88% of Green voters, 80% of Labour voters, and 59% of Reform voters. Two in three (65%) say the government should ensure people are able to eat healthy foods, while nine in ten (90%) say farmers deserve a fair price.
Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive of the FFCC, said: "Having enough good, healthy food, sustainably produced by UK farmers, is important to people across the political spectrum – a quite remarkable consensus. Yet 9 in 10 of them think the food economy is not working for them, right now. For a new PM, intent on making a real difference in peoples’ everyday lives, this is a clear steer towards the kinds of policies that people want to see delivered."
Personal Stories of Food Deserts
Dominic Watters, a single dad and food campaigner from Kent, described his experience on the CAC: "Not only was it the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had in my life, it’s a stark difference to the food available where I live. The only hot food available on my estate in Kent is breaded, processed, imported chicken that’s not even cooked on site but just kept warm. There’s not even a KFC or a Tescos. I live in a place where you can buy blueberry vapes and blueberry energy drinks, but you can’t get a packet of blueberries. It’s a food desert in the garden of England."
Lucy Antal, project leader of the Queen of Greens mobile greengrocer bus near Knowsley, Merseyside, echoed this: "When you’re living in a space where it’s easier to buy a vape than an apple, that makes it very difficult for people to follow public health advice. Yet people are always being told ‘you need to eat more healthily…you need more fresh food’."
Innovative Projects Tackling Food Inequality
The Queen of Greens bus serves around 400 families a week, providing affordable fresh produce. Mum-of-three Asma Omer said: "We all love the strawberries, but because the prices are lower here I can get new things for my family to try too. There is nowhere like this near my house." Dorcas Udugbai, 41, a full-time mum, added: "Every week I come for apples, strawberries, bananas…everything is so good and so cheap."
Driver Aaron Rossiter, 53, from Anfield, said: "We have one lady who buys 21 satsumas a week. It’s great for older people – they might just want to get two carrots and a spud, and that’s fine with us."
Pregnant mum Giftie Epine, 36, found the project online after struggling to find fresh food: "I asked Chat GPT where I could get fresh food locally. I’ll definitely be back."
Voices from the Citizen Advisory Council
Maria Chukwu-Nsofor, 48, a full-time carer for her autistic son Adebambo, 19, said: "I got involved after responding to an advert in the paper. It’s been enlightening and empowering for me as a member of the general public. I wanted to be a voice for the SEN community. When Adebambo goes to a shop he can manage the shopping list, but he can’t think about healthy choices as well. I just want him to be able to choose something healthy and be okay, and it all starts from that."
Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at The Food Foundation, said: "Across the country, and across parties, it is clear that the public wants government to take decisive steps to ensure everyone can access healthy, affordable and local food. All eyes are on the next Prime Minister to step up to ensure this happens."
Government Response
Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said that the CAC's "vital work shines a light on the values we want to see in our food system that are already alive in communities across England, from farmer cooperatives to city-wide food alliances."
Dominic Watters reflected: "I raised my child on free school meals. I know what it’s like to not always have access to food, electric, internet. Sometimes I would be able to feed her but not myself. Sometimes the electric wasn’t on. There is a 12 year difference in life expectancy between people who live on our estate and people just over the road. We need to reflect that unevenness in the country, and build a food system that works for everyone."
