Published:
9:33 AM April 21, 2021
West Hampstead Community Food hub co-founders Pranay Hariharan, Janet Grauberg and the Rev d Hugh Thomas pictured as Tulip Siddiq MP presents Sue Measures of Sidings Community Centre with a certificate honouring the initiative
- Credit: Polly Hancock
The West Hampstead Food Hub was highly commended by parliament last week in recognition of its work to tackle food poverty afflicting the community during the coronavirus pandemic.
The initiative, now based at the Sidings Community Centre, was honoured in the UK Parliament Awards for Campaign of the Year.
The Food Hub was launched in April 2020 by the Rev d Hugh Thomas, Janet Grauberg and Pranay Hariharan at St Cuthbert s Church, moving to the Sidings Centre in August.
The campaigners gave evidence to the Petitions Committee and Women and Equalities Committee as part of a joint inquiry, prompted in part by their petition. The Committees put the campaigners’ evidence to Minister of State for Education Nick Gibb MP in a later session, and the Committee’s work on this issue will continue with sessions with primary and secondary students in the Spring. The Petitions Committee will schedule a debate on these petitions once this work has been completed.
Nell and Esmie also set up the Impact of Omission initiative to campaign on this issue. Their website contains information about campaigning, links to teaching resources, and they have carried out a survey to hear about other students’ experiences, which has received more than 56,000 responses. They have used the results of their survey to raise awareness of the issue and their campaign.