2023: A campaign to support the Right to Food in Scotland

2023: A campaign to support the Right to Food in Scotland

Find out more about the Scottish Youth Parliament RightToFood campaign that is calling on decision-makers to extend free school meals to all.

What is the Right to Food?

The Right to Food sets out a range of standards that a countries food systems should be able to meet.

For many reasons that this campaign will draw attention to, many people in Scotland struggle to access the food they need to have a fulfilling and healthy diet. Different people have different food needs – be it cultural, religious, or dietary. Making the Right to Food a reality would allow everyone in Scotland to access the food the need – whoever you are and wherever you live.

The right to food, along with many other human rights, is protected under international law but it is often harder to enforce international law. There are plans for this to be protected by law in Scotland in the future, but currently this right is guiding rather than binding (i.e. if someone’s right to food is breached, you can’t take anyone to court over it).

Young People’s Right to Food Report

The report, ‘Young People’s Right to Food’, was published in March 2023 and details the findings of our research carried out with young people across Scotland in late 2022.

The consultation received nearly 850 responses with participants speaking about how they access food as well as what improvements they think could help uphold their right to food in Scotland.

Some of the headline statistics include:

  • 86% of the young people who participated in this research said extending free school meals was a key way to uphold their right to food.
  • Over 75% said this would make them more likely to eat lunch at school.
  • Only two-fifths of respondents knew about the help and support they could receive to access food in their local communities.

Click here to read the report – and learn more

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