As Westminster’s largest food aid charity, North Paddington Foodbank supports over 8,000 households annually. Last year alone, over three million people across the UK relied on foodbanks, which now reportedly outnumber McDonald’s restaurants.

Meanwhile, the House of Commons’ Catering Services spends millions on subsidised catering for MPs every year, meaning the public is helping to front the cost of restaurant-quality meals such as ‘panko coated lamb loin with carrot and Timothy Taylor Ale purée, black garlic, potato galette, and natural jus’ for £10.

Created in collaboration with artist Corbin Shaw, the charity’s new campaign, No Food in the House, hopes to stop this misuse of public funds by redirecting them from subsidised fine dining to combating food insecurity.

As part of the campaign, a fake menu based on the one regularly served to MPs has been uploaded to Deliveroo under a restaurant listing called The Houses of Parliament.

While the restaurant’s prices are very real, the only thing actually available for order is a limited-edition T-shirt designed by Shaw, which features the text ‘common as muck’ on the front. All profits from the T-shirt sales go directly to the Independent Food Aid Network.

Shaw has also designed a collection of dining plates that read ‘haven’t you had enough?’, ‘nationalise scran’ and ‘politicians fine dine on meal deal prices’, which may also be available to buy, depending on demand.

It’s not the first time the artist has shown his support for the charity sector, having previously collaborated with Women’s Aid on its campaign He’s Coming Home, as well as with LGBTQIA+ non-profit Homobloc.

In response to the provocative campaign, a UK parliament spokesperson said: “Our catering venues serve over a million customers every year – including visitors, MPs, Peers and journalists – as well as the thousands of staff who keep Parliament running 24 hours a day. All items are sold above cost price and we continuously seek to reduce costs.

“Parliament is a unique working environment and our high volume of customers – spread across a number of different outlets and buildings – means that additional costs are unavoidable. Prices in our venues are benchmarked against those in the immediate area, increasing most recently in Spring 2024. This has helped ensure our catering venues are providing value for money, while continuing to support those working on the parliamentary estate.”

Find out more about the campaign and sign the petition here; corbinshaw.com