Today marks the start of Challenge Poverty Week 2024.
This week recognises the work of individuals and organisations across Scotland to create a future where poverty isn’t a barrier to life. With child poverty rates in Scotland sat at 26%, relatively stagnant since the middle of the last decade, weeks like this are vital to building the much-needed movement for change.
Challenge Poverty Week is coordinated by the Poverty Alliance, Scotland’s leading coalition of anti-poverty activists and charities of which Magic Breakfast is a member. Each day this week, the Poverty Alliance will focus on a different aspect of poverty; housing, transport, adequate incomes, food, and communities and volunteers.
We know that poverty is one of the leading causes of child morning hunger. In Scotland, 42% of children living in poverty live in households with marginal, low, or very low food security.
Whilst food security can seem like quite a vague concept, it causes real and everyday issues for those who struggle with it. It is measured using a series of questions in a long term and reliable study called the Family Resources Survey. This includes topics such as whether the respondent worries about not having enough food in the house, whether they can afford to top up their food supply in a given week, and whether they believe they can afford to eat a balanced diet.
Numerous studies have shown that hunger impacts cognitive function and therefore the ability to participate in everyday life. This goes beyond just education but to all given tasks.
That’s why, on Thursday of this week, we’re joining the call for a ‘Scotland where we live without hunger.’
Earlier this year, our team joined the Poverty Alliance in crafting the policies that the collective will focus on. We’re calling on the government to consider three key actions in their journey to eradicating poverty:
- Improve dignified and ‘cash first’ food insecurity responses, including boosting the value and administrative responsiveness of the Scottish Welfare Fund.
- Push supermarkets to commit to setting the lowest prices, including cutting prices, on key basic food items.
- Deliver universal free school breakfast and lunch provision to all pupils in Scotland.
We’re very excited to see breakfast on the Challenge Poverty agenda and will be joining with other voices on Thursday morning as part of the Challenge Poverty Week Breakfast Briefings to call for change now.
There is no one silver bullet that will end poverty in Scotland or in any country. But this week, we lift up potential solutions. Solutions that are like jigsaw pieces, solutions that can begin to pave the way forward to a better Scotland.