Citizens from across the country took their calls for a healthier, fairer food system directly to Downing Street this week, handing in the We’re Fed Up! Citizens’ Charter backed by more than 10,000 people.

Citizens who shaped the We’re Fed Up! Charter joined campaigners from Recipe for Change at No. 10 Downing Street on Monday to make sure their voices were heard by Government.

The hand-in marked the culmination of a year-long campaign that started by listening to people’s everyday experiences of buying food and feeding themselves and their families: what makes eating well difficult and what they believe Government and food businesses should do differently.

Those conversations shaped six calls for change, covering issues including the affordability of healthier food, children’s health, trustworthy information and holding food companies to account. The Charter presents a shared vision for a food system that works better for people, and calls on Government and businesses to make that vision a reality.  

After the Downing Street hand-in, citizens headed to Parliament to share their experiences directly with MPs and others working across the food system.

Citizens call for a healthier, fairer food system

Dev Sharma, a youth activist who joined the hand-in, said:

“The cheapest and easiest food on the way home from school was almost always the least healthy. I went to Downing Street because thousands of people across the country have said the same thing in this Charter, and the Government needed to hear it directly.

“The one change I most want is for healthy food to become the cheaper choice, so no family has to pick between their budget and their health.”

Victoria Mortimer, a parent ambassador with the Children’s Food Campaign, said:

“I want us to share our experiences, voice our frustrations and offer achievable solutions, directly to the people who can make a real difference in our food system.

“My one ask is a ban on cartoon characters on the packaging of unhealthy HFSS foods like sugary cereals, snacks and sweets. It is targeted marketing at children, and companies shouldn't be allowed to use it to sell food that's bad for their health.”

Jodie Smith, from community organisation Heart of BS13, said:

“Supporting the Citizens’ Charter at Downing Street was important to me, and Heart of BS13 charity, because we witness the impact of our food system on people’s health every day.

“Through my work at Heart of BS13 over the last seven years, I’ve seen both malnutrition and obesity affecting families in the community, often driven by the fact that highly processed foods are cheaper, more available and heavily promoted.

“I’d like to see food companies and supermarkets make healthy food the affordable choice and stop targeting communities with relentless marketing of unhealthy products. Everyone deserves the opportunity to eat well and live well, regardless of their income or where they live.”

And student Tapiwa Chingati-Phiri said:

“It was important to travel down to Downing Street to show the real faces behind the signatures, as it’s easy to think food pricing and marketing is accessible for all but it’s a lot harder to ignore when the people it affects are right at your door.”

An appetite for change

The experiences shared through the campaign are backed up by wider public opinion. YouGov polling commissioned for We’re Fed Up! found that 79% of people think Government should be doing more to make healthier food affordable, while just 11% of the British public think food companies will make their food healthier without Government intervention.  

Kate Howard, from the Recipe for Change campaign behind the Charter, told attendees at the parliamentary event that the message from citizens was clear:

“Our conversations, our polling and the more than 10,000 people who have added their names to the Charter all point in the same direction: there is a real appetite for change. And people are fed up with waiting.

“Our message to Government is simple: be bold, be ambitious, and get on with it.”

The Charter comes at a time when Government has multiple options on the table, from building on the success of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, to progressing plans for healthy food reporting and targets and looking look at how measures across the food system, including through a Good Food Bill, can make healthier food more accessible. Food businesses have a crucial role to play, but Government must set the direction and create a level playing field.

The Citizens’ Charter sets out a clear vision for a food system where healthier food is affordable and accessible and food companies are held accountable for what they sell and promote to us. More than 10,000 people have backed that vision. Now they want Government to act.

Read more about the charter here