We can create the future we want, starting today. 

No one wants a child to go without food, to feel the pangs of hunger, let alone starve to death. Hunger is a political choice and we know change is possible. 

In our globally networked world, domestic and foreign policy choices both play a role in keeping affordable, healthy food on the table. It takes thousands of humans from far flung corners of the Earth, often unknown to each other, to cooperate within an enormous system to get a banana, say, or a kilo of flour from farm to table. Because the food we eat is so globally connected, and so dependent on a stable climate, this Mother’s Manifesto and call to action on food insecurity necessarily includes requests for domestic policy, foreign policy and systems-wide interventions.

We believe it's possible to cooperate nationally, internationally and economically to create a world in which all children thrive because they have enough healthy food to eat. Our food systems can be good for our environment, socially just and rooted in the principle of care for each other. 

We are therefore calling on the UK government to: 

MAKE SURE ALL CHILDREN IN THE UK HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT 

THIS MEANS:

• Providing nutritious free school meals for all children in state schools: this has been evidenced to show the best short and long term outcomes for children and to be cost effective.

• Providing an Essentials Guarantee for Universal Credit: so that families can afford the basic necessities, and not only survive but thrive. 

IMPLEMENT GLOBAL POLICIES OF CARE 

THIS MEANS:

• Keeping our promises on aid: reversing the cuts to the aid budget and ring fencing this for the financially poorest and most climate vulnerable nations. Supporting projects that are most impactful, whilst respecting local autonomy. 

• Delivering our fair share of climate finance and investing proportionally in the just transition to sustainable agriculture. 

• Cancelling debt to enable climate mitigation and adaptation. As one of the countries currently and historically most responsible for climate breakdown, the UK must cancel the crippling debt owed by the financially poorest nations. 

• Applying sanctions where food is weaponized: this is against international law, yet famine and conflict are often linked and restriction of food often used as a tool of war. 

INVEST IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 

THIS MEANS:

• Creating a National Land Use Framework that recognises our interdependence on nature, global food limitations and a fair and just food system. 

• Supporting farmers and growers through this transition.

• Providing the public with clear information on how eating healthy food supports both individual human health and planetary health

Why is this so important now? 

Here in the UK we had 50% less poverty in the 1970s. World hunger was in decline until 2014, having reduced by a third since 2005. This is the future reality we are calling for where hunger is in decline and every child has access to a nutritious diet which meets their needs. 

Mothers will go to extraordinary lengths to protect their children. In the UK 1 in 4 households with children are facing food insecurity, skipping meals and going hungry in order to feed their children. In 2022 there were 4.2 million children below the poverty line and around a million  living in destitution.  We have some of the most severe food insecurity in all of Europe.  As the sixth largest economy in the world, this is not something to be proud of. 

The situation is worse globally, with severe hunger and malnutrition putting 14 million children at risk of death, and being the cause of 45% of all child mortality for those under 5 years old.. Women and children have been shown to be the most impacted, and the UN has warned that progress on nutrition has gone into reverse. 

Mothers Manifesto calls for immediate action that upholds the human right to ‘available, accessible and adequate food’, as defined by the United Nations.

Food security is a growing issue and one we need to address urgently, as its impact accelerates due to the climate crisis. Extreme weather events are affecting key crops and driving up the cost of food globally, as well as causing the displacement of millions of people.

We welcome the Labour Government's policies on climate, which include two of our demands, namely the end to new oil and gas licences and the pledge to scrap the Investment Allowance, a tax loophole worth billions to oil and gas companies and their shareholders. This, as well as investing in retrofitting homes and a national green energy strategy, will help to address the climate crisis whilst lowering bills. However, the Government’s announcement of £22 billion in funding for new blue hydrogen carbon capture and storage (CCS) goes back on these promises, and represents a step backwards in our climate commitments. Research has shown that blue hydrogen’s warming impact is worse than coal - this must not go ahead.

Food security is a complex issue and we call on the Government to develop and implement  a strategy to bring resilience and food justice to all aspects of our food systems. This would include protective and restorative measures for nature including water, soil and biodiversity.  

Any national food strategy needs to also consider the impact of food importation on the environment and both local and global food security. 

Without rapid and positive action to address food security, food insecurity will escalate with devastating consequences. Decisive and bold action can change this.

GET INVOLVED

What’s next? 

On Mother’s Day 2025, we are uniting to demand action. We will be on Hunger Strike outside Parliament for 5 days, supported by 24hr regional hunger strikes. We stand in solidarity with all those unable to feed themselves and their children, and to highlight the reality of so many here in the UK and globally and in recognition that this is a social, racial and climate justice issue. Our strikes also aim to amplify the work and calls for action of many other organisations including The Right To Food Campaign, Food Foundation, Trussell Trust, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Oxfam and many more.

As mothers we have a powerful voice. Join us with yours, for any of the 5 days outside Parliament, or for our 24hr regional strikes. Find out more about our actions and contact us for more information on how to get involved. 

Follow us on social media for more campaign updates and information on how to support. 

Mothers can be the change that brings about that world, starting now.

 We know that we can make a difference, and that with unwavering determination, we can create a world in which no child goes hungry.