The Big Issue – August 05, 2019

(Kiana) #1

10 | BIGISSUE.COM 05-11 AUGUST 2019


campaign.


L


astweekthegovernmentannounced£2.1bnextracashforno-dealBrexitcrisis
planning.ButinSouthShields,thefuture of localbreakfastclubsisunderthreatafter
losingouton£30,000ofWestminsterfunding.EmmaLewell-Buck,LabourMPforthe
area,isdeterminedtostopchildrengoinghungrythissummer– butthegovernment
isn’tmakingiteasy.
“Igetpeoplecomingintomy officeallthetimeabsolutelydesperate,”saysLewell-Buck,40.“The
safetynetthatmy parentsreliedon whenwe neededithasbeencompletely eroded.”
ShehasrepresentedherconstituencyinParliamentsince2013.Aformersocialworker,she
specialisedinchildprotectionandmorerecentlyco-foundedholidayhungercharityFeedingBritain
withfellowMPFrankField.Ithasbuilta nationalnetworkofcommunitygroups,providingsupport
andresourcestothemtomakeadifferencetofamiliesstrugglingtofeedthemselvesandtheir
childrenduringthesummerholidays.
WhenshefirstenteredParliament,Lewell-BuckjoinedtheAll-PartyParliamentary Group
(APPG)on Hunger,subsequentlytouringtheUKtomeetpeoplewhotestifiedtothescaleofthe
crisis.TheMPwasleftheartbroken.
“Afterthe2015election, we realisedausteritywasgoingto
continuetobepushedthrough,cruelwelfarereformwouldstill
betheorderoftheday.SosettingupFeedingBritainseemed
likesomethingofvaluetodointhehereandnow.Weimagined
itasthe‘doing’ arm oftheAPPG.”
WhileFeedingBritainhasbranchesallovertheUK,theMPis
particularlyinvolvedwiththeholidayclubsinSouthShields.
“There’salotof peoplewhofeel absoluteshame about
havingtoaskforhelpor gotofoodbanks,” Lewell-Buckexplains.
“Westilldon’tknowthetrue extentofthefoodpovertyproblem
becauseofthat.”
InonegrouptheMPisinvolvedwith,childrenmeetina local
allotmenttolearnaboutplantsandwildlifethengetmealshot
offthebarbecue.
“Wekeepthemactivity-focusedandarekeentoavoid
approachingitlike, ‘You’rehungry,youcomehere’.”
EarlierthisyearNadhimZahawi,children’sministerat
thetime,announced£9.1minfundingfororganisations
providingfreemealsandactivitiesforkidsduringtheholidays,
fourtimesthefundingofferedayear earlierandbenefitingan estimated50,000children. Across
England, 11 groupswereselectedtoreceivegrants.
ButLewell-Buckisn’tconvinced.“IthasallbeenaPRexercisetomakeitlookliketheycare when
quitefranklytheydon’t.Iftheydid,they’dtackletherootcausesofitall–11groupshadsuccessful
bids,but92applied.Thegovernmentisn’tdoinganythingtosupporttheother81.”
In 2017,Lewell-BuckintroducedaPrivateMember’sBill–backedby 38organisationsand
nearly160MPs–thatdemandedthegovernmentmeasuresUKfoodinsecurityandcomesupwith
provisionsthateliminatetheproblem.Earlierthisyear, afteratwo-yearcampaign,thegovernment
finallyagreedtomonitor Britishhunger.ButnoresultswillbepublishedbeforeApril2021.
“We’retalkingaboutitmorenow butit’sbeenacrisisfor alongtime,”saysLewell-Buck.
“Ultimatelythelevel ofdestitutioninthiscountryisadirectresultof austerity,includingcruel and
punitive welfarereform.Andquitefrankly–ifyou lookatitclosely –therolloutof UniversalCredit

wasneverintendedtodoanything other
thanputhardshipontothosewho could
leastaffordit.”
Thespreadof low-paidandinsecure
workcombinedwithrisinglivingcosts and
stagnatingwagesisalsotoblamefor the
holidayhungercrisis,Lewell-Buck believes.
Thegovernmenthasallowedthegig
economytoflourish,Lewell-Buckargues,
andtheextremepovertysomanyare
plungedintowhenterm-timeends is one
symptomofthat.
“Butthethingis,peoplearebig-hearted
andpeopledocare.InSouthShields, people
aren’tparticularlywealthy,it’snota well-off
place,they’rehard-working,decent people.
I putanappealoutforoneofourfoodbanks
thathadshelvestotallyemptied.And you
couldn’tmoveinmy officefrom all the
donationswithin24hours.
“My faithinhumanityisdefinitely
there, justnotinthegovernment.By and
large IknowtheUKisfullofdecent people
whowillhelpout.I thinkthey’reour greatest
hopenow.”
feedingbritain.org

Re ort: Hannah Westwater


@hannahjtw
Additional reporting by
Liam Geraghty
@Lazergun_Nun

Politics of hunger
Lewell-Buck hit out
at ‘cruel’ policies

Clubbing together
About three million
kids across Britain may
go hungry this summer

The government knows


holiday hunger’s a


huge problem. So why


are they doing so little


to tackle it?

Free download pdf