Sustain Food Awards Reflection

It was a great opportunity to be able to attend the Sustain Children's Food Awards in February this year on behalf of the Changing Realities project, which has been nominated as a finalist in the Championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Children’s Food category. In the morning, I was both excited and also apprehensive about the journey to London, but I was reassured knowing that I would be meeting up with another participant from Changing Realities upon arrival.

I know the journey well, so I drove to Westminster, which left me with a short walk to the Abbey Centre, where the awards were taking place. I was a bit apprehensive about the amount of people in the area as there was a farmers’ protest right outside the Parliament. Several loud tractors were lining the road and in Great Smith Street - one hundred yards or so away - was the starting point for a Carer’s Union. Both events were well supported and attended, as was the Children’s Food summit that I was there to attend.

The building itself does not stand out, being easy to miss, but once inside it is bright and spacious with polite, friendly staff on hand to greet and help. The meeting rooms and conference hall can accommodate up to 180 guests. Upon entering the reception room I was handed a name badge, refreshments were available, and a vegetarian buffet lunch - made largely from fresh local produce - was being laid out for guests to enjoy while meeting others attending. There was plenty of time to talk with other organisations and campaign groups including school children and parents that push for changes in their own school canteens around the country. After lunch, everyone went upstairs for the main event. Guest speakers included Labour, Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party MPs, who spoke about the awards and what they would like to see changed within the food industry. They were also happy to answer questions from the room, and were given all the time needed to answer.

Before the awards were announced, there were several break out groups of attendees discussing various matters. I was at a table titled “Cash first approach”. I have, for a long time now, felt that the government is relying on charities and local community groups to support families struggling with the cost of living. There were some amazing groups and organisations working with families in different ways. I was very impressed with one of these groups that supports families with young children by giving them vouchers to spend on fresh fruit and vegetables at local market stalls, rather than large supermarkets. This means that children are eating fresh healthy food, the market stall holders receive much needed custom, while supporting local growers and providers in the area they live.

When I first heard about them, the awards seemed to be a bit tongue in cheek as they are labelled Yummy and Yucky awards. But by listening to what food campaigners and academics were explaining about the labelling of foods, their ingredients and, surprisingly, still advertising, I was both amazed and disgusted about what families - including my own - are feeding their children on a daily basis. This has a negative impact on their health and ability to concentrate properly on schoo,l work, or learning at such an important time in life. The awards were all received well, but not unsurprisingly, there was no one present to collect the Yucky awards from some of the biggest names in children’s food producers.

Overall, it was a very well organised and interesting event. I would suggest that anyone who is interested in learning more about what needs to be done by big-name food producers and the government take a look at the websites of Sustain and of all the other contributors and finalists, so that you can make an informed decision about what is fed to the children of this country. Even more important, the government and food industry as a whole need to drive down the cost of fresh healthy sustainable food like fruit and vegetables. These items need to be kept within reach of the poorest in society so that they do not have to opt for unhealthy processed foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat, which is causing a major and uncontrollable health time bomb that will for certain effect the outcome of our children’s future.