

The Food Foundation Podcast
The Food Foundation
The Food Foundation podcast is the voice of the charity that tackles the growing challenges facing the UK’s food. Reporting from the frontline of food insecurity, it reveals the gaps in the food system and the inspiring initiatives that are fixing them. From the stigma of free school meals to the enormous impact of holiday activities and food on hungry children, we find the stories that change lives, bind communities and make the politicians sit up and listen. The podcast, then named Right2Food, was the winner of the 2021 Guild of Food Writers' Awards for Investigative Food Work.Producer: Gilly Smith for the Food Foundation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 1, 2025 • 35min
10th Anniversary Special: Inside a decade of food policy change
In this 151st episode of The Food Foundation Podcast, Anna Taylor, Chief Executive at the Food Foundation celebrates its first 10 years with some of the people who have shared its journey.Laura Sandys OBE, chair and founder of the Food Foundation, Dev Sharma, 20-year-old food activist and young food ambassador at the Food Foundation, Henry Dimbleby MBE and Baroness Rosie Boycott, member of The House of Lords, and the Food Foundation board look back at some of the triumphs and challenges of calling on policy makers to recognize the central importance of the food system in shaping the nation's health and wealth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 25, 2025 • 9min
Pod Bites: Breaking the junk food cycle
Anna Taylor, Executive Director of the Food Foundation talks through the news that the Government has just published a policy paper setting out its ambition for its new food strategy. Anna, who also sits on the Government's Food Strategy Advisory Board, explains the overall ambition of the 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 information.

Jul 18, 2025 • 7min
Pod Bites: Junk food in schools
Danielle Glavin, Head of Communications at Chefs in Schools tells us about its report into the school food standards and what parents want for their children. In its latest poll with Survation of 1000 parents across all regions and income brackets, clear themes have emerged about the demand for fresh food in school meals.Click here for the full report, the Food Foundation Manifesto and to sign up for the newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 11, 2025 • 12min
Pod Bites: Will the NHS 10-year plan deliver?
Dr Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Food Foundation, reflects on the much-anticipated 10-year NHS plan and recent announcements about mandatory reporting and the Healthy Start scheme. 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.

Jul 4, 2025 • 6min
Pod Bites: Groundswell 2025
Jo Rowling, Head of Campaigns at the Food Foundation introduces Sheila Dillon's report from Groundswell 2025, the regenerative agriculture festival ahead of The Food Foundation panel discussion on beans, legumes, peas and pulses.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.

Jun 27, 2025 • 39min
Why should kids pay for school food?
This week, young Food Ambassador Dev Sharma hosts a very special panel discussion to celebrate the Government's announcement that free school meal eligibility will be expanded to all children in households on Universal Credit, lifting 100,000 children out of poverty, and giving access to a hot, healthy school lunch to around 500,000 more pupils.Dev is joined on the panel Rushda, a 16-year-old Food Ambassador from Halifax, Dr Sam Rushworth, the MP for Bishop Auckland, and Reema Reid, Headteacher of Holydale Primary School in London.Click here for the Food Foundation Manifesto, here for the Broken Plate report, and here to sign up for the newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 20, 2025 • 9min
Pod Bites: Did the Spending Review deliver?
In this week's Pod Bites, Shona Goudie, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Food Foundation gives a rundown on what we need to know about last week's spending review when it comes to food.Click here for the Food Foundation Manifesto and here to sign up for the newsletter. And watch this space for more clarity and updates from The Food Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 13, 2025 • 6min
Pod Bites: Junk Food adverts gamble
Fran Bernhardt, the Commercial Determinants Coordinator of Sustain the Alliance for Better Food and Farming, explains the impact of the latest Government delay in TV and online advertising restrictions.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.

Jun 6, 2025 • 7min
Pod Bites: Major school meals campaign win
Anna Taylor, Executive Director of The Food Foundation on the thrilling news this week from Government on the expansion of free school meals. From September 2026, all children in England who are in households eligible for Universal Credit, will become eligible for free school meals. Anna explains what that means to around half a million additional children from early years settings right through to sixth form, and to the health and wealth of the nation.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.

May 30, 2025 • 47min
The Battleground Over Eating Meat
Rebecca Tobi, Senior Business and Investor Engagement Manager at the Food Foundation hosts a panel discussion to discuss meat consumption in the UK to coincide with the launch of a new Food Foundation briefing Meat Facts, published this week,which really delves into who in the UK is eating what meat, what type of meat are we all eating, and where are we eating it.The panel comprises: Sarah Wakefield, Executive Director at the Eating Better Alliance, Sophie Bauer, Head of Food System Transformation at WWF, Mark Breen, Senior Creative Partner at the environmental charity, Hubbub, and Dr Shireen Kasam, Consultant Haematologist and honorary Senior Lecturer at King's College Hospital, London, and founder of Plant Based Health Professionals UK. Click on the links below for more information on meat consumption and why we need to care, and here for the Food Foundation report, Meat Factshttps://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/how-uks-supermarkets-stack-climate-change-commitmentshttps://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/low-hanging-fruit-policy-pathway-boosting-uptake-plant-rich-dietsClick here for the Food Foundation Manifesto and here to sign up for the newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


