H&F Food Plan - 2025 to 2030,Key challenges, outcome and priorities: Priority a) Food Security – Objective: Ensuring no-one goes hungry or is malnourished

"For many people, a healthy and sustainable diet is simply out of reach financially; even for people on slightly higher incomes, it can be less appealing because it's still the more expensive option."⁴

What we know in H&F

Food support providers are well placed to establish supportive relationships with priority groups and connect them to a wider range of support, advice and guidance.
There continues to be a low take up of Healthy Start Vouchers in H&F and only 56% of eligible families accessed this scheme in 2023, leaving vouchers worth over £150,000 unclaimed.⁵
H&F is ranked 112th out of 317 most deprived local authority in England (1 being most deprived and 317 being the least deprived). In terms of income deprivation H&F is ranked 88th.⁶
The rise in food and fuel prices, the highest since 1977, has further strained low-income households, making access to nutritious food more challenging.
43,320 residents are income deprived (in the 20% most deprived in England) while 18,200 of the working-age adults are employment deprived (in the 20% most deprived).⁷
Clem Attlee estate is ranked in the 10% most deprived areas in the UK and lacks local food aid provision.⁸
While compared to the London average the borough overall has a lower proportion of children living in absolute low-income families at 10.4% (2,902) certain wards like Wormholt and White City, College Park and Old Oak, and others have a higher-than-average proportion.⁹
25.6% of those aged 60+ are experiencing income deprivation, particularly in the northern parts of H&F.¹⁰
Disabled residents or those with long-term health conditions face a higher likelihood of food insecurity, with 18% of such families affected, more than double the rate of families without disabled members.¹¹
Community organisations have experienced difficulty in signposting and referring residents between services.
In 2023, 25,711 individuals in H&F relied on emergency food bank support, an increase of 103% compared to 2022. In 2024, monthly food bank usage is averaging 2,518 individuals. Notably, families with children and the elderly represent significant portions of those in need.¹²
The situation for food aid providers in Hammersmith and Fulham (H&F) is becoming increasingly challenging as the demand for meals outpaces the supply of surplus food donations and/or capacity.
Employed residents are increasingly seeking food aid due to cost of living. Food bank usage is not evenly distributed across H&F, with wards like White City showing higher percentages of individuals who were previously considered food secure. The wards with the highest usage of foodbanks were White City 16%, Conningham 10%, Addison 8%, College Park & Old Oak 8%, Sands End 7% and Shepherds Bush Green 7%.¹³
There are number of asylum seekers in H&F The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) accommodation pending outcome of their Home Office applications with no recourse to public funds. Asylum seekers have limited funds to pay for food and little to no kitchen facilities, meaning they are reliant on cheap, unhealthy food, and/or meals provided by their accommodation which may be unpleasant and not culturally appropriate.

Key outcomes

Residents can access affordable nutritious food.
Reduction in food insecurity.
Health inequalities due to food is reduced.
Residents know more about local food initiatives and support services.

Areas of focus

Increased Outreach. Work with partners to increase uptake of Healthy Start Vouchers and other similar schemes.
Targeted Support: Explore interventions that focus efforts on the most deprived wards, particularly those with high rates of child poverty and food bank usage and asylum seekers and disabled residents, ensuring that existing initiatives provide access to culturally appropriate and nutritious food.
Collaborate with grant providers to re-direct or align grant priorities to food plan priorities.
Service Integration. Explore the development a system for food support providers to connect residents with a wider range of services, ensuring timely referrals.
Addressing Root Causes. Explore programs that tackle the underlying causes of food insecurity through wrap around support, rather than solely relying on emergency food support.
Review H&F Council's and stakeholder data collection and reporting around food access and affordability, food education and choice and food sustainability. Identify gaps in data and working with partners propose potential metrics to measure progress of implementation of the Food Strategy.
Membership Expansion. Actively seek out community organisations, local businesses, and health-related groups to join the Food for all Partnership. Including restauranteurs in Civic Campus and Olympia and the life sciences and food innovation companies in the White City Innovation District.
Create an inclusive and user-friendly Food for All website that compliments H&F Community Compass and provides an interactive map of food support/aid, downloadable resources, newsletter signup, donation options and a way to gain insights from local organisations and residents.
Ongoing Community Engagement. Design and undertake an engagement plan to periodically gather the views of residents experiencing food insecurity. The output would be used to further inform food plan actions which will empower and help people access affordable healthy food.
Training for Frontline Staff: Create training materials and workshops focusing on nutrition, education and awareness of food poverty. Collaborate with local training providers or nutritionists to enhance the training sessions. Train and support people working in the community and in health, social care and education settings to use opportunities to discuss food before people experience crisis, improve the way that nutrition and hydration needs are identified using the 'making-every-contact 'count' approach.
Food Provision Review for asylum seekers. To identify gaps in food safety, cooking facilities, storage and safe infant feeding as well as wider hunger and malnutrition.
Free School Meals Application Process: Support more families to access Free School Meal entitlements. looking at the feasibility and potential impact of an opt-out system for Free School Meals registration.
Malnutrition Awareness Initiatives: Promote "Malnutrition Mondays" through existing and new local media and community networks. Collaborate with Home care agencies, Day Opportunities and other relevant services to ensure participation and awareness among older adults.
Embed the Dignity Toolkit created by the Alliance of Dignified Food Support to support Community Food Organisations to audit their own practices and use to develop an action plan.¹⁴