ePetition details

We the undersigned petition the council to introduce a Food Policy for Haringey. We call on: The Selby Centre Trustees to restore the community organising concept as a core value of the Selby Food Hub as initially conceived and ensure the trained volunteers are at the heart of the mission and decisions for the initiative, thus fully restoring the community led principle. We also call on Haringey Council to develop a comprehensive food strategy as a matter of urgency to tackle food poverty and insecurity in the borough.

Currently the Haringey Council does not have a clear commitment to a food strategy, this leaves many communities very vulnerable to food insecurity.

We call on Haringey Council to ensure its food policy is based on the following core commitments while at the same time working closely with communities in the borough to address immediate needs:
• Securing local space for food storage and preparation and green spaces to develop local food growing initiatives
• Funding to sustain provisions
• Development of a community inspired approach to meeting the needs of those experiencing food poverty
• Working with, and listening to, the community-based food providers currently working across Haringey who understand local needs
• Ensuring people-powered change with the community as the key partner to deliver the Haringey food strategy
• Provision of healthy affordable food for all so everyone is able to eat the food they need to thrive
• Building a sustainable local food economy so that good businesses and entrepreneurs thrive in Haringey
• Focus on the climate and biodiversity emergency, the way we live our lives should have a positive impact on nature and the planet.

For the last three years, until April 2023, the Selby Food Hub supported as many as 3,500 people a week with food and household items either directly or via more than 30 local groups in Tottenham and nearby.

The success of the Food Hub was based on community organising work - it was run by and for the local communities. Abandoning the community organising approach has reduced supplies to the Food Hub, volunteers have also left the Selby Food Hub placing it in severe jeopardy.

Local groups and food banks are no longer supported by the Hub and this happened without notice overnight. A sustainable long-term scheme that includes financial backing is urgently required that meets the needs of the community, managed by and with the community. It worked for three years – let’s fix something that until recently wasn’t broken. The health and well-being of Haringey is at stake.

This ePetition ran from 22/05/2023 to 24/07/2023 and has now finished.

162 people signed this ePetition.