Have your say on Lambeth Food Poverty and Insecurity Action Plan 2021-24

The proposal

We want your views on our proposals to Lambeth Food Poverty and Insecurity Action Plan 2021-2024 which describes how we plan to address food poverty in Lambeth over the next 3 years, including highlighting the key priorities for the Year one (2021 – 2022).

Background information / Purpose of consultation

• Food poverty and insecurity is an issue in Lambeth and is a public health priority.
• Covid-19 has further exacaberated and highlighted existing local food security.  We have seen how local volunteers, community organisations working with the local authority, have mobilised excellently to support residents during the pandemic.
• Lambeth has a strong track record of working in partnership across the food system to address food poverty and its consequences-supported by a range of programmes and policies with strong focus on prevention underpinned by healthy eating, physical activity embedded in a supportive environment.
• Extensive mapping of services, assets and key stakeholders has already been carried out across the borough, providing a good understanding of areas and communities in greatest need.
• The process of developing a Food Poverty and Insecurity plan for the borough in line with good practice guidance was initiated pre-COVID 19 pandemic however, attention to the emergency caused by the pandemic has delayed the process.  We now have the opportunity to have a plan that captures the emergency response currently required whilst ensuring we are putting in place sustainable actions to prevent food poverty and create a more supportive environment for residents to secure access to healthy, and nutritious food.

Next steps after consultation closes

The plan is a three year plan. A set of key priority areas will be prioritised for the first year. These are:

• Co-ordinating the provision and access to emergency food
• Delivering healthy and nutritious food support to children and young people during the school holidays period (Holiday Hunger)
• Working with schools to promote the uptake of Free School Meals
• Providing training support for staff working with vulnerable residents, children, and families to identify and signpost appropriately to supporting services
• Provision of council tax support
• Increasing the uptake of the national Healthy Start Voucher scheme
• Maintaining the Lambeth full UNICEF Breastfeeding accreditation
• Maintaining the council’s status as a Living Wage accredited employer
• Increase access to publicly owned land for food growing.

The outcomes from this consultation will be fed back to stakeholders and participants via a report and a public Lambeth Food Poverty and Insecurity plan event to present the findings and actions in March/April 2021.

Please share your views with us by completing the online survey below:

Food Poverty and Insecurity Action Plan Survey