We must overhaul Britain’s food security – here’s how we will do it

Every day, I help to feed thousands of people across the capital. London’s Community Kitchen (LCK) is one of the country’s largest surplus food redistribution projects, ensuring that good food doesn’t go to waste and instead reaches those who need it most. This journey didn’t start in a boardroom or with a policy paper but on the ground, witnessing silent suffering in plain sight.

When I founded LCK in 2014, I never imagined the scale of food insecurity I would encounter. I understood the value of food, but it wasn’t until I saw families queuing outside food banks, children going to school hungry, and working parents unable to afford basic groceries that I realised how broken our system truly is.

In 2021, I wrote in Metro: “Poverty is closer than you think.” That wasn’t a slogan but a truth confronted daily. The face of food poverty isn’t only the homeless person on the street: it’s your neighbour, your colleague, your child’s best friend at school. And the issue isn’t just the lack of food but the erosion of dignity, choice and security.

I have seen both the best and worst of our food system. The best are the volunteers who dedicate their time, the businesses that donate surplus food, and the communities that rally around each other. The worst: the shocking amount of edible food wasted daily, the policies that favour big corporations over people, and the utter lack of accountability from those in power.

I’ve been inside supermarkets collecting surplus stock knowing that families just around the corner are struggling to put meals on the table. I’ve spoken to parents who skip meals to ensure their children can eat, and pensioners who have worked their entire lives only to find themselves in retirement struggling to afford a basic meal. This is not a problem for the future – it is happening now.

In 1989, Britain produced 67 per cent of its own food. Today, 42 per cent is imported, leaving us highly vulnerable to price hikes, supply chain disruptions and global instability. We import 84 per cent of our fruit and 47 per cent of our vegetables. In comparison, our continental neighbours Italy, France and Germany import significantly less than 40 per cent of their food supply.

British farmers are left to struggle, while food giants profit. The government’s changes to farmers’ inheritance tax are just the tip of the iceberg. Over the past three years, governments have removed £2.4bn in farming subsidies, wiping out already thin margins. Ministers have promised a £5bn investment in sustainable farming, yet no clear plan has been laid out for how this will actually increase domestic food production.

Only one in four major UK food businesses has a sales target for healthier products, and just five companies control 80 per cent of junk food advertising before 9pm. This results in an ultra-processed, nutritionally poor diet that is making the nation sicker.

A radical overhaul of our food system is required, underpinned by urgent policy changes. We must prioritise self-sufficiency, with clear government targets to reduce our reliance on imports and support British farmers to grow food, not just rewild land. We need direct investment in food production, ensuring farmers are supported to grow crops that feed the nation.

The government must enforce healthier food targets, restrict junk food advertising, and create financial incentives for supermarkets to stock more British produce. Supermarkets dictate most of our food choices, but local food production must be made viable again. Community-supported agriculture, direct-to-consumer farming, and local food hubs can help shift the balance.

Food insecurity isn’t only a symptom of poverty but of a society that has lost its way. When people can’t afford to eat, it is a failure of our systems and priorities.

We can turn this around. Every allotment planted, every cooking class taught, every policy changed brings us closer to a society where no one goes hungry. This is not just about feeding people – it is about empowering them. So, I am calling on all of us to act. Support our local food projects. Volunteer at a community garden. Lobby our MPs for fairer policies. And most importantly, reconnect with where our food comes from.

Without urgent intervention, Britain will become even more sensitive to price shocks and dependent on imports, which can be thrown into doubt, as we saw when the Spanish government enforced an export ban on vegetables during last year’s flooding in Valencia. Food is more than fuel: it is culture, identity, and community. Let us stop taking it – and our future – for granted.