68 years ago the United Nations instigated World Food Day to spread the message of unity and support in face of increasing global poverty and hunger. This event is marked across the world by organisations, such as the World Food Program, that dedicate themselves to the fight for sustainability and an end to world  hunger and malnutrition. This years focus is on the theme “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition”. Whilst the levels of malnutrition and hunger in the UK cannot be compared with those in parts of the world where national infrastructure and effective governance is absent, we cannot ignore this mornings call by the Trussell Trust for an inquiry into the number of people relying on food banks in the UK. According to Trussell demand for foodbanks has “tripled” in the space of a year. Rather than acknowledge that this is a problem that does need a response, the Government has issued statements claiming, in an echo of David Freuds earlier speech in Parliament that the reason for this is due to the increase in these foodbanks. The number of foodbanks has doubled in the past year.

Anyone with a basic understanding of Mathematics would be able to distinguish between doubling and trebling, unless they were being intentionally disengenuous. If the foodbanks were stoking up demand as David Freud has stated, the growth would surely be proportionate to the number of foodbanks, not running ahead by 50%. As I reported 10 days ago, there are new foodbanks being established in Brighton due to pressing need, but the existing foodbanks are also experiencing greater demand than even a few months ago. The statement from the Government goes further, it claims that 90% of benefit claimants are receiving their benefits within 16 days. This statement sadly does not tell us how long the 10% must wait to receive their subsistence payments, or indeed how many people this 10% represents. It also fails to explain how well these people are managing on the benefits that have been cut as a result of the current government welfare reforms. The statement also ignores the thousands of people whose circumstances have changed, have notified HMRC and found their tax credits suspended for many weeks whilst an over burdened system attempts to calculate new tax credit awards and recommences payments.

The call by Chris Mould of Trussell Trust for an inquiry should not be seen as a negative when the Government reforms are being led by a Minister who by his own admission had never visited a foodbank as recently as July. He has also turned down an invitation to visit the foodbanks here in Brighton & Hove. The review need not focus merely on the explosion of demand for foodbanks, it could also focus on the impact in our communities of the welfare reforms. Many of these people have experienced different changes to a complex series of unconnected benefits. The Government by their own admission have never modelled the impact of these changes on individuals. A review might reveal some negative messages for the Government, but if they are confident in their policies, surely they have nothing to fear?

World food day in the world’s 8th richest nation by GDP overall and 23rd richest nation in terms of GDP per head should be a focus on what we are doing together to ensure sustainability for nations and regions where food poverty is acute and malnutrition rife. As a nation we can easily focus on both issues, but what we musn’t do is ignore either of them. Sustainable Food Systems and Food Security is something that should concern all of us. It is as relevant for those who today will mark World Food day by visiting a food bank for the first time, as it is for Government Ministers whose tax payer funded meals will be served by workers whose low wages and high living costs might actually mean that they are themselves dependent on food banks from time to time. All of these people should have sympathy and indeed want to help people in other nations who have not eaten for several days. However it is a great deal easier to understand the bigger picture when one is not personally hungry.