A number of initiatives are being supported by statutory and non-statutory organisations. These include food banks, food kitchens, community food-buying schemes, school breakfast clubs and lunch clubs for older people. They represent a very powerful response to hunger in our communities. Food banks and other forms of emergency food aid provision are increasingly necessary to address food poverty but should not allow policy-makers to avoid addressing the underlying causes of food poverty. Organisations should look to work more formally with government to help identify the causes behind the rise in demand and to provide signposts to other agencies, particularly statutory ones, to support those in or at risk of food poverty. There is a need for local authorities as part of their public health remit to more effectively assess the extent of food poverty among older people. Current initiatives to tackle malnutrition are welcome; these responses should be built on. Community meals should be reinvented for the 21st century, protecting this vital support. Food redistribution Food poverty Food bank Food waste