Food Poverty in South Wales: A Call to Action
The South Wales Food Poverty Alliance has published a report mapping food poverty across South Wales. The Alliance includes members from across Wales, including Children in Wales.
Although the UK is the seventh richest country in the world, many people struggle to afford food.
According to the Food Standards Agency, a fifth of people in Wales worry about running out of food.
Food poverty can have a damaging effect on children. 160,000 children in Wales are living in households where a healthy diet is unaffordable. An unhealthy diet means that those growing up in deprived areas are more likely to be obese. In 2017-18 98,350 three-day emergency food supplies were provided to people in Wales in crisis by food banks. 35,403 went to children.
The report, Food Poverty in South Wales: A Call to Action, makes 9 recommendations to the Welsh Government, including a commitment to adopting the FIES based measurement of food insecurity, to use all the available leavers to ensure that all employers in Wales pay the real Living Wage; and an evaluation of how best to make sure children are adequately fed and nourished.
You can download the full report, along with a map of food poverty alliances, here.
