Good food is a fundamental building block of health. Everyone should be able to access and afford enough nutritious food to lead a healthy life. However, more than 1 in 6 households in the UK reported that they had experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in January 2023 -for example, eating less or skipping meals even when hungry -because they could not afford or access food.Briefing: Food insecurity -what can local government do? 2 -Learn from action and share knowledge, including seeking to influence national government to improve food security and enable effective local action on this.• Local government has an important role to play in increasing food security in their local populations. But to enable this, national government must provide sufficient and sustainable funding to enable long-term planning of preventive approaches. National government action is also needed across relevant departments and with the food industry to create a food system that provides affordable and accessible nutritious food for everyone in the UK, while also benefitting the economy and environment.• To inform effective action at national and local level, there is a need to build the evidence base about what works in practice, both to prevent food insecurity by acting across the breadth of its determinants and to support those affected.