By Shraddha Kaul, public affairs and public relations manager, British Poultry Council
With the economic and social pressures being created by Brexit, access to food will become one of our nation’s biggest challenges. According to a recent survey, one in four low-income households in the UK struggle to eat healthily or regularly as they cannot afford to put food on the table.
Responsible businesses have a crucial role to play in fighting food poverty and ensuring everyone has access to safe, nutritious and affordable food. Having food on the table works its magic by bringing people together and building local communities. Redistributing surplus food has an incredible impact on change people’s lives, fighting hunger and lifting people out of poverty.
Poultry meat is in extremely high demand amongst frontline charities and community groups that prepare hot nutritious meals and feed thousands of people every day. British poultry meat producers are delighted to be working with charities fighting hunger and food waste and supporting the vulnerable. British Poultry Council (BPC) members are donating approximately 3 tonnes of poultry meat every week which is helping families, children and individuals up and down the country to meet their basic needs.
The BPC organised a roundtable in parliament last month that brought together parliamentarians, business and the voluntary sector to talk about ways in which we can work together to reduce food poverty and ensure good quality food is accessible to all. The British poultry meat industry used this opportunity to call for an integrated food security policy: a cross-departmental framework that drives resilience and productivity in the food supply chain; combines agriculture, food, trade, and social policies; and puts feeding people at the heart of society.
As responsible food producers, it’s our duty to work with Government and the voluntary sector to fight food poverty and ensure that everyone has access to the food that we are proud to produce. We can collectively make a significant impact on the lives of the most vulnerable in society; while delivering for schools, hospitals, and other public services; and ensuring affordable British food is available in the shops up and down the country.