All Student Vote (Spring 2024)

Warwick Food for All - A Motion to Guarantee the Right to Food for the Warwick Community

This motion is to improve the sustainability of the food offering on Campus. 

This Union notes: 

1. Previous motions relating to food and environment carried in previous ASVs, including: the ‘Plant-based Warwick’ [1] motion carried in the Autumn 2023 ASV; the ‘Cost of Living Support’ [2] motion carried in the Summer 2023 ASV; and the ‘Environmental Accountability’ [3] motion carried in the Spring 2022 ASV.

2. The right to food is a human right set out in the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (specifically Article 11.1 and 11.2) that gives individuals the right to have ‘physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement’.

3. According to the Student Union’s Cost of Living Survey [4], 86% of students have cut back spending to cover living costs - including 89% who have cut back on buying food - whereas 68% of students felt that they could not afford to buy food and drink on campus.

4. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages have risen by around 27% in 2 years, which have caused people to buy less food [5] (ONS, 2023). Similarly, in response to rising food prices, students have eaten out less, cooked at home more, bought cheaper foods and went to cheaper stores to buy groceries (FSA, 2023) [6].

5. In the same period, The Trussell Trust, a UK-wide food bank network, distributed 1.5 million food parcels between April 2023 and September 2023. This was a 16% increase over the same period the year before, highlighting the dire situation people are facing today (Trussell Trust, 2023) [7].

6. Rootes acts as the central hub and main option for students and staff to obtain their necessities due to its central location on main campus, and the inconvenience of accessing alternatives on the vast Warwick campus.

7. Mistreatment of migrant workers in farms, nurseries and packhouses in the UK is widespread and has been documented [8].

8. There is a large amount of food wasted on farms - even before it is sold/distributed. A report by the WWF and Tesco [9] found that 2.9 million tonnes of edible food are wasted on farms. This amount equates to approximately 6.9 billion meals - enough to feed 6.4 million people three meals a day each year. 

9. A WRAP report found that in 2020 the UK food system produced 154.8 Mt CO2e of greenhouse gas emissions - 10.4 Mt of which is from transport alone [10].

This Union believes: 

1. That all students and staff deserve the right to food with dignity and choice: sufficient, culturally appropriate, and nutritious food.

2. That our campus has no place for food insecurity, hunger, or malnutrition; and that good food on campus should be available and affordable to everyone, distributed equitably and not profit-driven.

3. That food brings people together, builds new social relations and facilitates learning; its availability should never be based on competition or profit.

4. That food culture is a vital part of our campus, and that everyone should be able to eat the food they enjoy with others in comfort, no matter their status or background. A thriving food culture on campus means knowing about where our food comes from and who has grown or produced it.

5. That food on our campus should be produced through ecologically sustainable methods, low waste, predominantly locally sourced and without exploitation. From field to plate, food producers and providers should be valued, paid fairly and with good working conditions.

6. That the Union has the responsibility to guarantee the right to food of its student members and to support the creation of a local, social, and sustainable food system for the University community.

This Union resolves: 

1. To mandate the Welfare and Campaign Officer and the Democracy and Development Officer to action on this motion.

2. To work with the University to create a University-wide food bank - which should be seen as a short term solution - in line with the principles of sustainability, nutrition and cultural appropriateness, to be followed by a long-term Campus Canteen plan to resolve the need for food banks on campus

3. To guarantee the long-term provision of free breakfast for all students.

4. To work towards zero waste on Union-run outlets by the end of the 2024/2025 academic year and to lobby the University to do the same for University-run outlets and food services with the goal of becoming a zero-waste campus. [Zero waste should mean zero waste to landfill, which entails, among others, putting a sustainable waste management system in place.]

5. To lobby the University to use its communication platforms to inform students and staff of social food events and programmes on campus, including those run by the Union and student societies. This should take place in the University’s weekly email updates and through a dedicated University FAQ page on Food.

6. To support and lobby the University to work towards the creation of a community-supported agriculture on University land to create a local, community-run and -supported food system for the University community.

7. To lobby Coventry City Council, Warwick District Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and all related local governments to guarantee food for all Students. This includes, but not limited to, funding free food programmes in Leamington, Kenilworth and Coventry.

References:

[1] https://www.warwicksu.com/referenda/motion/133/385/

[2] https://www.warwicksu.com/referenda/motion/132/381/

[3] https://www.warwicksu.com/referenda/motion/126/360/

[4] https://www.warwicksu.com/news/article/warwicksu/SU-Cost-of-Living-Survey-Summary/

[5] https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/costoflivinginsights/food#:~:text=Food%20prices%20rise%2027%25%20in%20two%20years&text=This%20was%20the%20eighth%20consecutive,the%20lowest%20since%20May%202022.

[6] https://www.food.gov.uk/research/key-findings-online-survey#food-related-behaviours-and-eating-habits

[7] https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/latest-stats/mid-year-stats/

[8] https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023-03-27/they-treat-you-like-an-animal-how-british-farms-run-on-exploitation

[9] https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-10/WWF-UK%20HIDDEN%20WASTE%20REPORT%202022_2.pdf

[10] https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-11/WRAP_Tracking_UK_Food_System_Greenhouse_Gas_Emissions_2022_Update.pdf