More and more people in Belgium are struggling to access healthy food or are even suffering from hunger. On Monday, citizens, anti-poverty organisations and their allies will be taking to the streets of Anderlecht as part of a "Parade of Hunger" to highlight the need for structural responses to a "reality that is only getting worse."
"Today, more and more people are turning to food aid in Belgium, and at the same time, farmers are struggling to get a fair and remunerative price for their work. Insecurity is increasing on both sides of the food system," Brigitte Grisar, Project Manager at the Federation of Social Services in Wallonia and Brussels (FDSS), said.
She added that the lack of political action is "worrying," and that if Belgium continues down this path, "we are heading straight for disaster at all levels." In Belgium, receiving food aid is currently subject to strict access conditions and procedures that require proof of food insecurity, among other things.
Food aid alone is not enough
The demonstration will take place today, on the occasion of the International Day against Poverty, with organisers planning to hold a parade with floats, large empty refrigerators and music. The message is clear: ask both the federal and regional political levels to take real steps in this crisis. The parade will then be preceded by a large collective meal.
Yannick Roels, Director of the non-profit organisation Cultureghem that supports struggling families in Anderlecht, providing food aid alone is not a structural solution to solve the issue, as it does not tackle poverty hands-on, it only manages it.
Floats will be spanned by large empty refrigerators. Credit: FIAN
According to Grisar, the real solution should include increasing minimum social benefits so that "everyone can eat with dignity," exploring new areas of social security and investing in quality food in social services and school canteens.
From a food industry aspect, she added that this should also focus on properly paying farmers who produce quality food on the one hand, but also halting subsidies for agribusiness and its junk food "that is destroying our health."
"We are here to demand together a structural response that guarantees sustainable access to healthy food, without conditions, thus meeting a fundamental human right: the right to food for all," Grisar said, adding that this is the only real solution.
