The Trades Union Congress, representing millions of workers, has passed a motion supporting a campaign to enshrine the right to nutritious food in law during its annual conference in Brighton yesterday.

The call came as food price inflation rose, with grocery prices up by 2.3%. With another cost of living crisis on the horizon, food price inflation is predicted to peak at 6.4% next July.

Sarah Woolley, General Secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU) told the Congress: “People are going hungry, not because there isn’t enough food, but because they don’t have enough income, security or protection to afford it.” 

Sarah Woolley is a member of the Right to Food Commission, established by Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby.

“Let’s stop pretending that ending hunger is unaffordable,” she said. “The expensive option is continuing with hunger. We already pay the price through ill health, pressure on our public services, lost productivity, poorer educational outcomes and human suffering. The choice is whether we invest in prevention, dignity and security, or continue paying for failure.” 

Meanwhile, the Right to Food Commission has responded to the dire warnings from the Institute of Grocery Distribution about rising food inflation over the next two years.

Vice Chair of the Commission Ian Byrne MP, said: “These are dire warnings that the government must heed. They are of the utmost concern as they compound the current reality that over 14 million people in this country are already food insecure and unable to adequately feed themselves and their families.

“Our commission will soon report its findings after taking evidence from across the country. The evidence we will present is a stain on our country. It must act as a wake-up call for policymakers and governments, leading to action to end food insecurity.

“There is a moral and human case, as well as an economic one, to address food insecurity. It is costing people their dignity and in their ability to get on in their lives and it’s costing the country in terms of the spending needed to deal with its consequences. The warnings of even more food inflation will clearly only worsen the situation and will require government intervention.

“Now is the time for radical action and a Right to Food Law with the resources and investment required to ensure every citizen in this country has access to good nutritious food.”