Food for good

The government is launching a campaign to advise us all to be prepared for emergency. At a time of volatile weather, global conflict and predicted food shortages, it’s a sobering message. But what does prepping look like for the food banks and other organisations already supporting vulnerable households through the cost of living crisis? Isabella McRae visited food banks to get the view from those on the UK’s front lines, and dug into official advice on how to become more resilient. But it’s not all bad news. People across the country are using food for good – as a means to lift people out of homelessness and provide opportunity. We’ve sampled the Stuffed Gourmet Trailer that’s making burgers and wraps with a side helping of social good, via its training and employment programme for young people. And we meet the students of Fat Macy’s, a cooking academy for the next generation of culinary talent. We also revisit the Big Grow in Norwich, where the green shoots of self-sufficiency are really starting to flourish.

Also inside

• What really happened when Lord John Bird met Andy Burnham, John Healey and Angela Rayner at Liverpool’s Independence Initiative
• Podcaster and author Blindboy Boatclub says that if he were prime minister he’d be giving knighthoods to wasps
• Hairy Biker Si King looks back on a wild ride with his late best friend in his Letter to my Younger Self
• Portrait Artist of the Year is back, and we’ve got the inside view as Louis Theroux and Anthony Scaramucci are reimagined on canvas
• New film The Lost Children of Tuam tells the moving story of one woman’s unwavering determination to uncover a horrifying secret
• Sir Alex Ferguson has made a playlist of all his favourite songs for dementia charity Playlist for Life
• Invisible Cities takes us to Aberdeen to discover the city’s public art and Norwegian kinship
• And London vendor Jason Sallis has waited years for accessible accommodation. Now he’s taking his landlord to court

And much more

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