18 November 2025
Citizen panel keeps our finger on the pulse with Bang in Some Beans campaign
Meet the Citizen Panel helping us keep our finger on the pulse with our new Bang in Some Beans Campaign!
Bang in Some Beans is our new campaign that has a bold ambition: to double the UK’s bean consumption by 2028.
To help achieve this aim, we've set up a Bean Citizen Panel. Made up of eight Food Ambassadors from across the UK, it is helping to shape the campaign and ensure that we fully understand the current barriers people from low-income households face when it comes to eating beans.
Many people know beans (including pulses and legumes) are a superfood! However, on average we eat just one portion of beans a week, and two thirds of the UK population eat less than one portion of beans a week.
According to Planetary Health Diet UK, bean consumption should be seven times higher than it currently is for us to live healthier and more sustainable lives.
Plus, beans are affordable (costing 4.5 times less (per 100g) than other plant-based meat alternatives).
In short: beans are a win-win-win for health, climate and equity. So, how do we increase bean consumption?
Over the next three years, we'll be running projects and campaigns to boost bean intake in schools, universities, through supermarkets and in communities.
To help us get our message and activities right, the Beans Citizen Panel are joining the campaign as experts by experience of the food system and food system challenges.
Each panel member brings a different perspective: from parents, to students, to bean lovers, to bean I’m-not-so-surers! With the panel’s support, we hope to make this bean campaign relevant for everyone: from the highlands of Scotland to Land’s End, from farmers to city dwellers, from young people to our older folk. We have just one call to action: BANG IN SOME BEANS!
Citizens Panel
A single mum who experienced food insecurity in the past (as a young adult and a parent). What helps her to navigate the convoluted food environment are her knowledge in nutrition and budgeting skills. Nevertheless, being a registered Associate Nutritionist while living in a deprived area is not enough - she wants to see less junk food around as both she and her daughter see the impact of it. She would like the school food to be nutritionally adequate, also food lessons in schools to teach practical skills reflecting the current reality, and healthier food to be the cheaper, easier and fairer option.
She finds all pulses tasty especially the humble red kidney beans which can be easily used in savoury dishes or turned into a chocolate cake.
Favourite bean, pulse or legume: red kidney beans
I know what it's like to be in receipt of Free School Meals and this is why I joined the Food Foundation as a young Food Ambassador, campaigning to create a healthier, more affordable and sustainable food system for all. I am on the Barnet Council’s youth board, a Young Conservative and also active in mental health groups across the UK.
Favourite bean, pulse or legume: Green lentils
I'm adult Food Ambassador based in Edinburgh. I volunteer at a foodbank, and this opened up my interest in what is "good food"? What is "nutritious" and why good and nutritious food is the key for good health. As an advocate, I strive for policies making this food affordable and available, educating the end users (consumers) on the need.
Favourite bean, pulse or legume: Black Eyed Beans
As a sole earner I have struggled to afford fresh and healthy food as an adult on a small monthly budget - relying on reduced sections and creative meal planning to get by. I see the same struggle in my community daily. That’s why I’ve spent the last four years as a volunteer cooking free meals with FoodCycle in south London and I’m proud to now be a Food Ambassador, fighting for food justice. Nutritious food should be accessible to all which is a topic I am truly passionate about and breaking down the barrier to elevate this. In addition, I want to spear head food education and how to cook nutritious meals from scratch and an affordable price and minimise food waste. Food waste is a huge issue and one that needs to be tackled head on in the home with the support of Governments. Not just to prevent food to landfill and environment implications but to re-direct this food to those who need it. Everyone deserves access to nutritious food - no matter their income. Food is a right, not a privilege, which we need to stand up together for those in power to listen.
Favourite bean, pulse or legume: Black Bean
Dominic Watters comes from the most deprived blocks of his council estate. He has used his experience of the daily realities of poverty to help inform discussions about fuel and food insecurity in the UK. In this way he occupies the unique position of both being a member of an impoverished community and also an advocate for the same community and too many like it. After many requests to speak about his lived experience, Dominic developed the concept of "living experience" to stress the urgency and tensions of the inequalities faced by so many. Through his campaign and now CIC, Food is Care, he identified gaps in social care frameworks and worked tirelessly to raise awareness of shortcomings towards the most disadvantaged families in society. Dominic's impactful appearances on BBC Newsnight, Sky News, the New Statesman, and Dutch national 6 o’clock news have shown him to use every platform he can access to speak up for the marginalised and often unheard. Now widely regarded as a voice of poverty, Dominic is writing his PhD, whilst also working to influence policy, practice and academic spaces focused on food inequalities.
Favourite bean, pulse or legume: Kidney Bean
As a mother of two from Middlesbrough, I am deeply passionate about the vital role food plays in building strong communities. Growing up, I experienced the challenges of accessing affordable, nutritious food, which inspired me to become a Food Ambassador. Volunteering gives me the opportunity to advocate for food security, sustainability, and food justice while ensuring access to healthy, nutritious and affordable meals for the community.
Favourite bean, pulse or legume: Red Kidney Beans
I’m a nutritionist passionate about making nutritious, affordable food accessible to everyone. With a clinical nutrition and public health background, I’ve worked with underserved communities and led outreach programmes tackling diet-related diseases. Now pursuing a Master’s in Human Nutrition, I joined the Food Ambassador programme to help drive change in the food system and support community-led solutions. I believe that everyone deserves a seat at the table - and a plate filled with good food.
Favourite bean, pulse or legume: Chickpeas
Ryan is a politically minded campaigner, acting as a former member of the Scottish Youth Parliament and advocating for children in care. He is very strong speaking on the policy changes needed to protect children’s right to healthy and affordable food and wants to make sure the good practice taking place in Scotland in relation to the monitoring of school food is adopted throughout the UK.
Favourite bean, pulse or legume: Lentils
The Food Ambassador programme aims to amplify the voices of people with lived experience of food insecurity. You can find out more here.
About the project:
Thanks to National Lottery players, The Food Foundation, alongside Veg Power CIC and Kent University Student Union, will encourage people across the UK to eat sustainable food sources such as beans, lentils and pulses, as a way of helping them take achievable and affordable climate action.
The Full of Beans project has received almost £1.4m from The National Lottery Community Fund, and aims to reduce the impact of diets on greenhouse gas emissions, whilst creating a long-term shift towards healthier and more sustainable dietary habits.
