WATCH: MP Ian Byrne tells us how Liverpool is becoming the UK’s first Right to Food City

Ten million people in the UK are experiencing ‘food insecurity’ – and West Derby MP Ian Byrne is among those leading the fight to make sure no-one goes hungry.

Liverpool is to become the UK’s first Right to Food City as MP for West Derby, Ian Byrne continues his fight to end food poverty all together.

Ian who co-founded Fans Supporting Foodbanks to tackle food poverty five years ago is now taking his fight to parliament, working with local and national organisations, to see the Right To Food made law, and ‘to end the scandal of hunger and foodbanks once and for all’.

Ian’s hopes are that after Liverpool becoming a Right to Food City, other cities will follow and further lobby parliament to change the law to make access to food a legal right for all. We also hear about his initiative, Grow West Derby which teaches and supports people in the area to grow their own food.

The use of food banks was increasing before the pandemic and has risen dramatically during the pandemic.

The Trussell Trust has now collected data that broadly covers the first 6 months of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK, from 1 April to 30 September inclusive. Overall, foodbanks in the Trussell Trust’s network have seen a 47% increase in the number of emergency food parcels needed across the UK, when compared to the same period last year.

Children have been disproportionately affected by the crisis, with the number of parcels given to children rising by 52%.

Ian says that putting a “Right to Food” into law would clarify Government obligations on food poverty and would also introduce avenues to hold Government bodies accountable for violations.

You can sign the Right To Food petition here.