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Work to eliminate food poverty in Leicester is to be led by an expert from СʪÃÃÊÓƵ (СʪÃÃÊÓƵ).

Professor Jonathan Davies has been appointed as independent chair of Feeding Leicester, a network of organisations working together to ensure access to food for all.

Having spent a decade analysing the impact of austerity on urban centres such as Leicester, Prof. Davies, who heads up СʪÃÃÊÓƵ’s Centre for Local and Urban Studies (CLAUS), said he was honoured by the appointment to the role, which was previously held by Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Leicester West MP.

He said: “A big part of our work is to research ways cities can support sustainable development, including the elimination of poverty and inequality and giving voice to marginalised groups.

“Until the late 2000s, demand for emergency food supplies was very low. It took off in earnest after 2010, rising continuously through the decade.

"It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that long before the pandemic and cost of living crises made things even worse, austerity and welfare reform aggravated poverty and drove the extraordinary rise in hunger and malnutrition.”

Feeding Leicester is part of the Feeding Britain Network, set up a decade ago by former Labour minister Frank Field in response to the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hunger and Food Poverty.

It is a multi-agency partnership working to address food poverty together with the Leicester Food Partnership (LFP), an informal network of 22 food banks.

It is one of a number of pilot projects which have been set up around the country, often working with local authorities and church groups to coordinate emergency food provision around ideas such as Food Bank Plus - foodbanks which offer wrap-around welfare services - holiday activities for children and food pantries where nominal sums are charged for surplus food.

It also looks towards a future where foodbanks are not required, sponsoring efforts to pass legislation for automatic enrolment for new mothers on the Healthy Start programme.