A statement from Charli Thompson & Holly Kal-Weiss of Right To Food Barnet calling on Barnet Council to step in to support the service providing Kosher meals for local schoolchildren

Barnet twinned with sign outside Hendon Town Hall — Right to Food Barnet is calling on Barnet Council to save Barnet schools’ Kosher Kitchen Service – (Credit – LDRS)

We call on Barnet Council to intervene and save our Barnet schools Kosher Kitchen Service.

The recent sacking of 41 workers and the withdrawal of an essential social protection for children at 14 Jewish schools in Barnet must be addressed urgently. One headteacher said her school only receives £2.32p from the government per meal and the London Kosher Kitchen service could not provide meals for less money.

The rising cost of food including Kosher food is creating an emergency situation and this will only get worse. All Barnet schools are already strapped for cash and are having to cut spending in order to stay afloat, so this issue must be addressed.

Food is a human right and dignity must come along with that. The fact that we are questioning children’s access to basic sustenance is deeply troubling, as is the appalling treatment of workers who provide such a key service to Barnet schools. Barnet Council must step up and do the right thing, as they have done in the past when other services have failed.

Sadiq Khan recently promised free school meals for all primary schoolchildren in London in 2023/24. Those school meals must be hot, nutritious and culturally appropriate so funding must be at the correct levels.

The outsourcing of school catering to private companies poses a risk to the security, consistency and standards of school food and the employment of workers, as this incident has proven.

Right to Food Barnet calls on Barnet Council to immediately:

Act as a matter of urgency to ensure the Kosher Kitchen service remains open to guarantee good, hot and culturally appropriate school meals to children in the schools affected.
Ensure that all 41 workers are re-employed to the service with terms and conditions according to Barnet Unison’s demands.

We also call on Barnet Council to:

Lobby the GLA and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to ensure that funding for schools is increased in line with rising food prices and energy costs to ensure that Kosher food is covered by budgets set.
Bring all school catering back in-house and support dynamic procurement with SMEs and local food producers to ensure security and consistent standards of school meals for all Barnet pupils and real living incomes and good terms and conditions for workers.
Declare Barnet a Right To Food borough in line with the global movement for food sovereignty (Right To Food), commit to cash-first solutions to food insecurity and bring an end to the institutionalisation of charitable food aid in Barnet.

“At a time of multiple crises driving deepening social inequalities, Barnet’s commitment to support residents “feeling the effects of this crisis” must be extended to ensure that vital jobs are maintained to prevent poverty and destitution. Local authorities have a duty to ensure social protection for vulnerable groups and free school meals must not be lost to any child, especially those with culturally specific food needs.” – Dee Woods, London Food Board Member and Western Europe Focal Point of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism for relations with the UN Committee on World Food Security

Right To Food Barnet has set up a solidarity fundraiser to provide short-term financial help to the 41 workers who have been sacked and who currently have no income for essentials like food, rent and bills. Please give what you can and share this widely.

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