On Thursday 13th October, shoppers at Spitalfields market were shocked when food prices rocketed from between 500-800 % as part of a British Red Cross campaign highlighting the cost of living in developing countries.
'Food Insecurity' is the term used to describe the issues behind lack of food or poor nutrition, which includes high food prices that fluctuate, making it impossible for families to know if - and what - they can afford to eat.
Although it causes more deaths than AIDS, malaria and TB each year, a recent survey of 2,000 UK adults by the British Red Cross reveals that a third of us have not even heard of it.
Food insecurity causes hunger and malnutrition, the biggest threat to the world's health today. It causes millions of deaths each year, but so many of us don't know enough about it.
I will host the UK's first Food Insecurity Market at London's Spitalfields market ahead of World Food Day on 16th October. I hope it will help people understand the very real issue of food insecurity and give them a rare, first-hand experience of what 925 million* people around the world have to deal with every day.
In some countries families spend up to 80% of their income on buying enough food to live. Most people in Britain could not even begin to understand the devastating effect this might have on your home and family.
What would you give up to make sure you have enough food? Selling your latest iPhone and skipping trips to the cinema would not be enough. Many would have to consider selling their possessions and homes to raise enough money for food.
Food prices have gone up in the UK but imagine going to your local Tesco and finding that a cheese sandwich costs £15. For someone living in a food-insecure country, these kinds of prices are a reality.
For more information on the Seeds of Change campaign please visit www.redcross.org.uk/seedsofchange.