Last week, Jake attended the Lewes District Food & Climate Summit hosted by the Lewes District Food Partnership. The event aimed to unite various local stakeholders in ‘Building a Good Food Movement’ – working together towards increasing accessibility to healthy and sustainable food.
The event brought together schools, community organisations and local people and was filled with workshops, discussions and other activities, including hands-on cookery demonstrations.
Jake supported this by facilitating a "Our Children, Our Future" session. This session built on the findings of a report from Sustain, which outlines a parent's manifesto for a better food system. Based on interviews with 2,000 parents, the report captured the concerns and hopes of parents around the food environments their children encounter. Sustain plans to present their key recommendations in Parliament, and this summit provided an opportunity to gather additional input—particularly from youth voices.
Youth at the Heart of the Food Movement
Local schools attended, bringing with them groups of students and, importantly, enabling them to be part of the conversation. They participated in practical cooking sessions led by local chefs, creating healthy snacks for attendees. They also joined workshops where they voiced their thoughts on challenges within the current food system and discussed what they would like to see in their food education, both inside and outside school. Best Food Forward welcomed the students’ involvement, understanding that their voices are crucial in shaping food policies that affect them directly.
BRITE BOX: A Creative Approach to Family Cooking
A standout demonstration at the event was from BRITE BOX (Building Resilience in Today’s Environment), a Kingston-based charity that provides families with meal kit boxes to encourage home cooking. The boxes collected weekly from school are affordable (aiming to be replicable for £5.00), nutritious (containing 2+ fresh vegetables), and fun. Currently, BRITE BOX supports 800 families over an entire school year (36-week programme). The initiative’s success lies in its approach—it empowers young people by turning meal preparation into an exciting activity. The box looks like a gift, adding an element of surprise that makes kids more likely to try new foods they’ve helped to cook. This initiative supports family budgets and helps improve the cooking skills of both students and their parents.
A Movement Forward
The Lewes District Food & Climate Summit successfully showcased the importance of building a localised, sustainable, community-driven food system. By involving a wide range of groups and individuals, the event fostered a collaborative environment for exploring new ideas and solutions. As Sustain prepares to present its recommendations in Parliament, the voices gathered from this summit—including those of the younger generation—will help drive a positive shift in the food system.
Through initiatives like BRITE BOX and discussions like those held in the "Our Children, Our Future" session, it’s clear that empowering families and young people is a crucial step toward a healthier, more resilient food future.
Jake Barwood,
Joint strategic lead for
mapping secondary
school food education
Best Food Forward
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