Kingston has been named the seventh-best London borough for tackling food poverty, figures show.

According to a report by London Food Link, the borough scores a rating 59 per cent for its efforts in tackling food poverty in the capital.

The report cited numerous initiatives by Kingston Council, including the healthy eating Boost campaign, as the reason for the borough’s strong performance.

Simon Shaw, food poverty campaign coordinator at Sustain, said: “Our report sets out a number of ways which London boroughs can address the drivers behind food poverty.

“We know that local authority budgets are under pressure, but taking action to prevent food poverty can make real differences to the lives of those most in need.

“I encourage all London boroughs to develop and implement a food poverty action plan which includes recommendations from our report.”

The report presents findings of responses to a survey against nine measures. All but five of the 32 boroughs responded to the survey.

The total scores for how well boroughs are doing on tackling food poverty vary between 17 per cent and 79 per cent.

The report shows how more than 25,000 London households are losing out on over £6m-worth of healthy start vouchers, which would help low-income families to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.