Crowds lined the streets as community groups marched with drums and banners to protest at the "normalisation" of food poverty. 

Right to Food Haringey (RFH) and other community and trade union groups led the Hunger March on September 23, assembling outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from midday.

Hundreds of people moved down Tottenham High Street to Tottenham Green for a 'community festival of resistance', with speeches, food, stalls and workshops.

The London march was the finale to a week of action as part of Right to Food Week 2023, and coincided with marches in other UK cities including Liverpool and Belfast.

RFH is campaigning for universal free school meals for all primary and secondary school children, liveable incomes and benefits, community spaces and kitchens, "genuinely affordable housing", and a community-led sustainable food strategy for the whole of the borough.

Right To Food London organiser Dr Sharon Noonan-Gunning said: “London is one of the wealthiest cities in the world yet we face rising food insecurity, which means increases in hunger and malnutrition due to inequalities in wealth across London.

"We say no to this outrage and we do not accept this situation."

Ham & High: Activists highlight the 'unacceptable level of food poverty in London'Activists highlight the 'unacceptable level of food poverty in London' (Image: David Gilchrist)

Alison Davy, an organiser for Community Cook Up and Northumberland Park People representative, said they were fighting for decent pay, a rise in welfare benefits and pensions,  adding: "This is how the Government must address hunger.

"People must be able to choose what they eat and not have to rely on food banks."

Steve Jones, convenor of Haringey Community Action Network, which includes more than 25 community and campaigning groups, said: "We were blown away when we found out that our Right to Food Haringey Hunger March had been turned into the London march."

Ham & High: Drumming the message home that adults and children in London are going hungryDrumming the message home that adults and children in London are going hungry (Image: David Gilchrist)

He added: "I was stunned by the support from hundreds of people on the streets, in the shops and cafes, many lining the road as we went by. We distributed well over a thousand leaflets while we were marching. It was incredible."

Anne O’Daly, food bank coordinator and part of RFH, highlighted the "unacceptable level of food poverty" across the capital.

She said: "We're sick of the normalisation of food poverty. Hunger is a political choice, and things have to change. This march is just the start of our campaign in Haringey."