How British Foodanthropy is shining a spotlight on the world’s growing hunger crisis

Matthew White, Director of Fundraising & Communications at Action Against Hunger UK, on the fight to halt global hunger levels

Britain has always been a nation of food lovers. From the godmother of home cooking, Mrs Beeton, through to Heston Blumenthals’s cornucopia of culinary concoctions - Britain is a nation of ‘gastronauts’ and we will defend our culinary credentials to the hilt.

TV series like The Naked Chef, Masterchef and the Great British Bake Off have ensured that British cookery is lauded on the world stage. To give you some idea of how far this net has been cast, a staggering 30 countries have emulated the Great British Bake Off, whilst the original UK show had been broadcast in more than 190 territories.

That we know how to bake, blanch and boil isn’t in question. But perhaps what is less well known is that the British food industry is quietly defining a far more important legacy on the global stage and saving thousands of children’s lives in the process.

As an organisation, Action Against Hunger works in 47 countries, treating more acutely malnourished children than any other charity. We are experts in food and nutrition and advise many of our peer organisations on how best to address food insecurity, be it as a result of conflicts, like the devastating and protracted crisis in Yemen, or because of the increasingly erratic weather that is the product of Climate Change.

As experts in food and nutrition, it is understandable that chefs would be drawn to the organisation. What we didn’t anticipate, however, is the scale of the support or the level of commitment we would receive.

From culinary institutions like Ken Hom, Rick Stein and Raymond Blanc, to today’s trailblazers like Angela Hartnett and Nieves Barragán Mohacho, for more than twenty years, chefs and restaurants have been quietly supporting our life-saving work: hosting events, auctioning off their skills and time, or undertaking gruelling challenge events.

We estimate that in the last ten years, alone, chefs and restaurants have helped us to raise over £11 million. To give that number some context, that is enough money for us to provide life-saving nutrition to more than 260,000 children facing life-threatening hunger.

And despite the challenges that the restaurant industry is facing, this commitment has never wavered. In fact, this year’s Love Food Give Food campaign (where restaurants add a discretionary £1 to their bills through October and November) we hope will be our biggest yet, with more than 400 restaurants taking part including well-known brands like Hawksmoor, Pho, Rosa’s Thai, and Homeslice.

This spring, 40 of our supporters will be undertaking a gruelling 100km trek through Jordan. The roll call reads like a who’s who of British gastronomy. From leading chefs like Nieves Barragán Mohacho, Angela Hartnett, Tom Brown and Robin Gill, to the restauranteurs, founders, and leaders behind brands including Meatopia, Shake Shack, Margot and Bubbledogs. Not only will these foodanthropists be raising vital funds to support our work, but more importantly they will be raising awareness of a growing hunger crisis that has gone largely unnoticed by the world’s media.

The recent UN State of Food Security report has shown that global hunger levels have risen for a third consecutive year. Today, more than a quarter of the world’s population - 2 billion people - are not getting enough nutritious food to eat and more than 50 million young children are dangerously malnourished. Poor nutrition in the early years is proven to have damaging effects on children’s schooling, even on their long-term welfare.

We are already seeing how climate change is pushing more and more communities to the very edge: causing crops to fail and driving conflict as resources become increasingly scarce. But despite the deteriorating situation, investment remains woefully inadequate.

If governments are serious about achieving the sustainable development goals, they must prioritise tackling hunger. If they don’t, they have zero chance of realising many of their noble ambitions. Strengthening economies, achieving gender equality, and ensuring that children stay in school - none of these will be possible whilst a quarter of the world’s population continues to go to bed hungry.

To be a foodanthropist you don’t need to be a celebrity chef or a restauranteur. You can visit a participating Love Food Give Food restaurant, hold a bake sale or simply spend a couple of minutes discussing hunger over dinner with a friend or family member.

The most important thing is that we start a conversation. We need the world to wake up to the fact that climate change and conflict are pushing millions of children to the brink of starvation, right now. Where better to start this conversation than around our own dinner tables.

For more information visit actionagainsthunger.org.uk