The Food Foundation Podcast

In this major new podcast series as part of The Food Foundation, Veg Power and Beans in How's three-year mission to get the UK eating more beans, chef and writer Melissa Hemsley shows us how these little powerhouses of goodness are so good for our health, good for the planet and such good news for stretched family budgets. In this first episode, Ian Theasby, one half of the super-influencer r...

Welcome to Bang in Some Beans , the six-part mini series from The Food Foundation and Veg Power, who have partnered on a three-year mission to get the UK eating more beans. Presented by chef Melissa Hemsley, it’s part of a major new project to challenge the way we think about beans. The series is a deep dive into the stories behind beans. We need to eat more beans; beans, pulses and lentils are li...

Katherine Jenner, Executive Director of the Obesity Health Alliance tells us about the new nutrient profile model that has finally been published by the government, and the very real consequences of how food and drink will be advertised and promoted, especially to children. Click here to sign up for The Food Foundation newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leticija Petrovic, the local food policy lead at the Food Foundation leads a panel discussion about school food, what works to improve school food menus and children’s nutrition, and what we can learn from what is already happening on the ground. The discussion is inspired by a new research project led by the University of Birmingham, and the panel includes: Dr Katie Edwards , research fellow in P...

Good gut vibes only. Fibre February is the perfect time to Bang in Some Beans! Chloe MacKean, Food Business Transformation Manager at The Food Foundation tells us about the campaign to double UK bean consumption, and how fibre is so essential for our health. Check out the Bang in Some Beans Instagram for delicious beany recipes, and keep an ear out for our Bang in Some Beans podcast series coming...

As food assistance goes digital, vulnerable people risk being shut out. Iris Lim, postdoctoral researcher from SOAS University of London tells us about her research into the barriers people face in accessing support and the overlaps between digital poverty and food poverty. Join us on 12 February to dive deeper at an event with the SOAS research team - you can attend either in person or online. Re...

Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Food Foundation tells us about our latest film project which gives a vision of great school food for all children across the country. The Lunch They Deserve is a film by The Tin Bear Project and presented by Emma Thompson and the Food Foundation's Young Ambassadors, gives us a vision of school food that is nourishing and tasty, where our school f...

Andrew Stark, Senior Researcher and Policy Manager at Eating Better, discusses the work of 160 organisations advocating for UK government improvements in the food system. The NGO , itself an alliance of over 70 organisations, has published 17 recommendations for a coherent food policy, emphasising a joined-up healthy food and sustainable farming plan, nature-friendly farming, and affordable, cultu...

Katherine Jenner, Executive Director of the Obesity Health Alliance, gives us her view on the new junk food advertising restrictions. Read our blog for more in-depth analysis here . Click here for more information from the Obesity Health Alliance on the junk food advert ban, and sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with the latest food systems analysis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

Do family meals mean children eat healthier food? How often are families sitting down together to eat? Dan Parker, Chief Executive of Veg Power, tells us about the latest research understanding what family mealtimes look like in this New Year pod bite. The insights are based on a survey by its Families and Food Task Force, which includes parents, retailers, government, chefs, nutritionists, psycho...

Sarah Bentley, founder of plant-based community cookery school and charity, Made in Hackney tells us how a small community initiative became the catalyst for a global plant based food justice movement. Read our latest food insecurity report here and sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with updates about the food system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alicia Weston, CEO of Bags of Taste explains why rising prices and food inflation can make a traditional Christmas unaffordable and inaccessible for too many people in the UK. Read our latest food insecurity report here and sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with updates about the food system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Food Foundation tells us about the new child poverty strategy published at the end of last week, with reflections from the policy team. Read our latest blog for more in-depth analysis here and keep up to date with our latest news and events by signing up to our newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rebecca Tobi, Head of Food Business Transformation at the Food Foundation tell us about our new State of the Nation's Food Industry report for 2025 which we launched this week.  Click here to read the report, and here to watch a a panel of leading food businesses and investors analysing the findings. Sign up to our newsletter for all our latest news and updates here . Hosted on Acast. See aca...

Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Food Foundation has been digesting the autumn budget through the lens of diet and health inequalities, and gives us a quick whistle stop tour of some of the key announcements relevant to the work of the Food Foundation. Click here for the Food Foundation Manifesto, read our Budget blog here and here to sign up for the newsletter. Hosted on Acast....

This week, Tilda Ferree, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer at the Food Foundation gives us an update about the Healthy Start campaign and why the Food Foundation is pushing for this government to strengthen the scheme as part of the child poverty strategy. Click here for the Food Foundation Manifesto and here to sign up for the newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

In this week's Pod Bite, Anna Taylor, Executive Director of the Food Foundation tells us about the launch of the Government's School Breakfast Programme from its new Office for the Impact Economy, a single front door for impact investors, philanthropy and purpose driven businesses to partner with government and collectively grow social impact across the UK.  Click here to read our latest blog...

Chloe McKean, Food Business Transformation Manager of The Food Foundation, tells us about a brand new campaign with Veg Power: Bang in Some Beans, which aims to double the consumption of beans in the UK by 2028. Click here to sign up for The Food Foundation newsletter and here for more information on the Bang in Some Beans campaign . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kicking off our new podcast series, we dive right into the heart of nutrition for the youngest children with a focus on Early Years settings. Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at The Food Foundation is joined by a panel of experts for a deep dive into early years nutrition: Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, and also a Food Foundation trustee, Sarah Ambrose, Area Manager and...

Shona Goudie, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Food Foundation tells us about our new report, Roadmap to Reducing Food Insecurity which investigates the impact of food insecurity over the past few years and what we can learn from it. The report aims to understand the scale of the problem, the extent to which people are struggling, and identify who is at most at risk so the government and local a...

Lydia Collas, Head of Natural Environment at Green Alliance tells us about their report published this month which explores the consequences of eating more plant-based food for food security, for economic growth and for our health.  Click here for the full report , here to learn how climate change is affecting food prices and here to sign up to our newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

Anna Taylor, Executive Director at The Food Foundation analyses the latest EAT-Lancet Commission report which warns that food systems are breaching planetary limits. The 2025 Report on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems presents the most comprehensive to date. Click here to find out how Climateflation is affecting food prices and here to sign up to our newsletter for update and analysis o...

Joss McDonald, Public Affairs Lead at the Food Foundation reports back from the Labour Party Annual Conference in Liverpool, and finds a party not blowing its own trumpet on its food policy wins. Click here for the Food Foundation Manifesto and here to sign up for the newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barbara Crowther, Children's Food Campaign Manager at Sustain, the Alliance for Better Food and Farming , tells us about how the expansion of healthy school meals to all children could work better, not just for children's health, but also for local, sustainable and British farming. Click here for more information on Sustain's Follow the Carrot campaign, and here to sign up for the Food Foundation...

Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Food Foundation is joined by Food Foundation Ambassador and mother of two young children from Hartlepool, Barbara Achingale, Vic Harper, CEO of The Bread and Butter Thing, and Amanda Bailey, Director of the North East Child Poverty Commission to talk about diet and health inequalities across England. With the publication this week of a new dashbo...