The Chair of Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee, , has today written to the
DEFRA Secretary of State , raising areas of
urgent concern arising from its ongoing inquiry
into COVID-19
and food supply. The letter, which follows the
Committee's evidence
session on the impact of the pandemic on the elderly; people with
disabilities; and on food banks last Friday, draws
attention to three key areas that it urges the Government to
consider immediately:
· The considerable
increase in demand for food aid from those facing
financial distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
including an 122% rise in demand from families with
children compared to the same period in
2019. The Committee will be closely scrutinising the Government's
response to this pressing issue.
· A
pilot project which aims to divert high
quality, fresh food wasted at the farm gate to food charities.
The letter emphasises the considerable benefit such a
scheme could bring to
society and the environment, and calls for
DEFRA to share its evaluation of the pilot.
· The plight
of vulnerable groups struggling to access food during
the pandemic. The evidence received by the Committee suggests
that charities, retailers and national and local government need
to come together to form sustainable
strategies allowing these groups to regain
independence and ensure access to healthy food.
Chair of the EFRA Select Committee, , said:
"For many, accessing fresh and healthy food has become a
cause for great anxiety, second only to the virus itself. The
EFRA Committee's own public survey, as well the eye-opening
evidence we heard last week, have shown the real urgency of this
problem. Many people have been made financially vulnerable by the
coronavirus, or else robbed of their independence; they deserve
urgent attention. Our inquiry continues, but it is vital to raise
these very pressing issues now, whilst something can still be
done to alleviate the difficulties of what is for many people, a
grim reality."
A full list of Committee
membership can be found here.
