Food justice

We want nutritious, healthy food that is produced locally in ways that mitigate climate change and support biodiversity, to be accessible for everyone – no matter their income, ability, or background. 

As a society, we provide universal education and access to healthcare, but we know that some kids are hungry and can’t concentrate and people are getting sicker from poor diets. In the devastation of a decade of austerity and the cost of living crisis, foodbanks are providing an amazing emergency response, but they are not a total solution. We believe everyone should be able to access the food they want, with choice and dignity. 

What’s the issue?

Households with income and food insecurity are less likely to be a healthy weight, are more likely to have diet-related diseases, and have a shorter life expectancy. The sharp increase in the cost of food at the moment is likely to exacerbate existing dietary inequalities. 

When money is tight, we choose to buy what will fill us up and keep hunger from the door for longer. This means that vegetables become a luxury – but one that is essential for human bodies to be healthy.

“There is no single reason as to why vegetables are so consistently linked to positive health outcomes. Rather, it is likely that their high fibre and micronutrient content, in addition to the fact they are often a good source of prebiotics, low in salt, sugar and saturated fat, and contain a variety of different phytonutrients, combine to produce diverse health and nutrition benefits.”
― The Food Foundation

What we do

At Common Soil we have a solidarity pricing scale for our veg boxes, asking those who can afford to pay more to do so, in order to keep the veg more accessible to others. This is run on an honesty basis, so that people who need some extra support don’t feel they have to prove it. But we know that with entrenched poverty and a spiralling cost of living crisis, access to good food is just not an option at all for so many. We’re keen to work with other community groups and projects locally to create a food system where everyone can eat well and we are applying for grants to support this work and for the provision of full bursaries for access to our vegetables.

We have built up relationships with local food hubs and when we have a surplus of produce that even our members can’t handle we donate it to the food hub for community distribution. We also offer members the option for us to deliver their veg share to the food hub if they are on holiday and can’t collect it.