Lee Anderson wants more food education, but he never tried my GCSE oatmeal sausages

School cookery lessons aren’t the answer to food poverty, says Will Gore

Anderson lectures the poor on how to prepare 30p meals (Parliament TV)

Poor Lee Anderson. The Tory MP came under fire this week for suggesting there was really no great need for food banks in this country, and that people just require better education when it comes to cooking and budgeting. One can imagine him telling Oliver Twist to pad out his gruel with a little more water and be thankful for it.

Of course, Mr Anderson was quite right when he said that it’s possible to make a meal for 30 pence. Regrettably, it’s not possible to ensure sufficient nutritional balance if every meal costs 30p. What wouldn’t many hard-up families give for a nice subsidised lunch in the House of Commons canteen?

I’ve often thought that our historic glorification of the Second World War has a lot to answer for on this subject. Raise the issue of food shortages and there are still plenty of people who’ll say: “Ah yes, but when there was rationing in the war, we were healthier and heartier than ever!” Never mind that they weren’t alive then to enjoy the dubious delights of dried egg; and never mind the fact that the whole point of rationing was to ensure that everyone could access a sufficient and fair share.