Last week the UK experienced a historic general election.
But how can our new Government boost the nation’s health, address food poverty and reshape our food system? We think that Rose Vouchers have a crucial role to play.
Candidates from across the political parties pledged to tackle health inequalities, prioritise health prevention and address poverty. Labour’s manifesto promised to raise the healthiest generation of children in our history, end mass dependence on emergency food parcels and develop a strategy to reduce child poverty.
We want to make sure the new UK Government and Members of Parliament prioritise actions that ensure everyone has access to healthy and affordable food.
Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be reaching out to senior members across Government and MPs from all parties to share evidence of how Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg are improving thousands of people’s access to a healthy diet. Importantly, we’ll also share the stories of families who have been helped by Rose Vouchers and our recommendations for next steps.
We will urge Government to:
- Press forward with their existing commitment to pilot a Community Eatwell programme, which enables GPs and social prescribers to prescribe fruit & veg to those living in poverty, using our work in Lambeth and Tower Hamlets as a blueprint for best practice.
- Replicate and scale our Rose Voucher for Fruit & Veg project to ensure children have the healthiest possible start and develop a long-lasting love of fruit & veg.
With so many families struggling to afford healthy and nutritious food, we look forward to working with the new Government to ensure Rose Vouchers are part of the solution.