The UK has benefited from several charities that have provided food to local communities. These charities are very significant and include FareShare, Foodbank and the Trussell Trust. It would be fantastic if the current Sussex Parliament members would engage with these charities this Autumn.

The most recent comments about FareShare came in April this year when Jo Churchill former Conservative Minister for Bury St Edmunds spoke in Parliament. Two other Conservatives that commented in April were Charles Walker, a Minister from Broxbourne and Jo Gideon, Stoke-on-Trent Central.  Jo Churchill also spoke about FareShare in February. These individual MP’s are no longer in the Parliament following the new Labour Government arrangements. It was interesting that following Jo Churchills contribution in April, there were more responses from MPs referring to FareShare. They were Anne McLaughlin for SNP, Selaine Saxby for Conservative MP for North Devon, Wera Hobhouse for Liberal Democrat in Bath, Paul Girvan for DUP, Steven Bonnar for SNP and Daniel Zeichner for Labour in Cambridge. From this list, only two are still MPs, Wera Hobhouse in Bath and Daniel Zeichner, for Cambridge. The last first comment from a Sussex MP was Nick Gibb, the Bognor Regis and Littlehampton member who was the Minster in July 2023 but he was left in July.

Foodbank: In March 2024, Grahame Morris MP for Easington who remains as an MP and Virendra Sharma from Southall who lost his seat in July this year to Deirdre Costigan who is the new Labour MP both spoke on Parliament. Stephen Timms from East Ham asked two Foodbank questions in Parliament in March and is now the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions. There were others that responded earlier this year with the first Sussex contribution back in October 2023 which came from Mims Davies who is now the MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield.

Trussell Trust: In July, Josh Babarinde the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne, spoke to commend the work of Eastbourne Foodbanks set up by a local man Howard Wardle. The references to the Trussell Trust have been much more significant. In September a range of MPs, Zoe Fanklin, the Guildford Liberal Democrat MP together with other Liberal Democrat MP’s and one Labour MP asked questions in Parliament. These questions in Parliament show how geographically widespread the issue of food poverty extends across the UK.

We clearly need all MPs and indeed the Sussex MPs to speak up in Parliament in the next few months for FareShare and Foodbank that needs response for the new Government group. They also would enjoy to hear from the the Trussell Trust in the near future.