“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food…” – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25, originally published in December 1948
The UDHR was written, in the aftermath of the horrors of genocide and World War, to create inalienable rights for all. The preceding years had also seen mass famines in the imperial colonies such as Bengal, whilst hunger and economic hardship had laid the foundation for the rise of Fascism in the European metropoles. It is, therefore, unsuprising that food would be included as a fundamental human right.
Today, Liverpool is a city where 2,300 emergency food parcels are distributed every week. A Right to Food feels abstract to the daily reality of many people both here and across the UK.
But what could change if Parliament passed a law enshrining a Right to Food and made it a universal right applicable to a UK context? This is what the Right to Food Commission – originally launched in September 2025 – is aiming to find out.
On Thursday 30th January 2026, the Commission launched its first Citizens Assembly which we attended at the Joseph Lappin Centre in Old Swan. The meeting began with Vice Chair, Ian Byrne MP, addressing a room of around 50 people to lay out the aims of the commission and his hope to find a political roadmap to achieve the five aims of the Right to Food Campaign. We then heard from the student campaigners at Monksdown Primary School, who have been at the forefront of the Universal Free School Meals Campaign. The main aim of the aseembly, however, was to collect testimony from the attendees regarding the effects of food insecurity that could then be submitted to the Commission.
The day after, we were invited to provide evidence at the Right to Food Commission Hearing at Knowsley Council. Early in the day, our partners at Public Health submitted evidence on the deleterious effects food insecurity has on the health of people in Liverpool, as well as the evidence base for policies such as universal free school meals to alleviate hunger and improve health outcomes. The Commission also heard took evidence from Feeding Liverpool trustee, Michelle O’Dwyer, on the positive effects of community cooking for health, wellbeing and community cohesion.
Feeding Liverpool gave evidence in the Work and Welfare session, alongside members of the Royal College of Nurses, Public and Commercial Services Union and Knowsley Council. Our evidence focused on how poor working conditions, low wages and an inadequate and punitive welfare system are creating food insecurity. We drew upon the evidence from our Without Access to Justice Report to show how the work conditionality attached to benefits is forcing people to accept low-wage, poor quality jobs – sustaining the conditions for those very same jobs to exist in the first place. It is a vicious cycle which is creating health issues and perpetuating food insecurity in our communities.
There are many challenges to establishing a Right to Food in law – one of which is the scope of the law to change our food systems. If a Right to Food law only addresses the minimum income people receive through work and welfare, then people will have to continue spending their money in Tesco, ASDA and other supermarket giants who created a failed system in the first place. People living in food deserts will remain cut off from access to fresh fruits and vegetables that will continue to be imported, rather than more sustainable and equitable agricultural production being supported at home.
Furthermore, just because people have a right in law, does not necessarily mean that they can benefit from it. Our Without Access to Justice Report shows how people presenting at foodbanks are regularly having to survive on incomes lower than the minimum guaranteed by law already. People are also not receiving sick pay and their full welfare entitlement – with no way of challenging their employer or the DWP for re-dress.
History has shown that the most durable human rights are realised when ordinary people stand up together; the Suffragettes led large-scale civil disobedience to obtain women’s voting rights, campaigns such as the Bristol Bus Boycott paved the way for anti-racial discrimination laws in the 1960s, and the repeal of Section 28 came after years of tireless campaigning by LGBTQ+ people.
An expansive and meaningful Right to Food requires new laws, but also a movement of good food for all. The Commission is open for individuals and groups to submit evidence up until Sunday 31st May 2026. This could be an opportunity to connect communities affected by food insecurity with local growers calling for access to land, schools campaigning for free school meals, supermarket and delivery workers organising for better pay and conditions, and land-workers fighting for sustainable livelihoods. These are the connections which can sustain a movement to enshrine the Right to Food for All.
If you are interested in hearing more about this work or the Right to Food Commission and how you can get involved, please email Samir.