Political party conferences 2022

The Food Foundation is to stage several events on the sidelines of this year's Conservative and Labour Party conferences to highlight ways we can improve the food system.

Our Chair Laura Sandys, Executive Director Anna Taylor, and Policy Engagement Manager Isabel Hughes, are travelling to events in Birmingham and Liverpool to attend meetings with key contacts and present solutions to pressing issues such as the cost of living crisis and rising obesity rates.

The first event entitled: The Whole Plate: Affordable, Healthy and Sustainable Food? is being held in collaboration with innovation agency Nesta and independent think tank Bright Blue at the Labour Party conference on Monday, September 26.

We are running this event in partnership with Nesta, and it is hosted by think tank Bright Blue. It will be held at in Meeting Room 7, Jury's Inn, Liverpool (outside of the secure zone - no conference pass required) from 4.30pm-5.45pm. The session will be chaired by Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue.

Key topics which will be discussed include:

• The strengths and weaknesses of the Government’s latest food strategy 
• What the government and the sector can do to ensure access to food in a cost-of-living crisis 
• How we can ensure food manufacturers take responsibility for the health effects of their products 

Speakers include:

• Ian Byrne MP
• Professor Emma Boyland, Chair of Food Marketing and Child Health at the University of Liverpool
• Chris Smyth, Whitehall Editor, The Times
• Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation
• Hugo Harper, Mission Director: A Healthy Life, Nesta

The second event is entitled Safeguarding health by breaking the junk food cycle.

We are running this in partnership with the Obesity Health Alliance, Sustain, and the British Heart Foundation, and it is hosted by think tank IPPR.

The session will be held at in Education area 3, Museum of Liverpool, Liverpool (outside of the secure zone - no conference pass required) on Tuesday, September 27 from 10.30am to 12pm. It will explore how we can create a food system that is fair for all.

The following week at the Conservative Party conference we will hold an event entitled: Tipping the scales: breaking the junk food cycle.

It is taking place in partnership with the Obesity Health Alliance, Sustain, the British Heart Foundation, and is it hosted by think tank Bright Blue.

The event will be held at in Birmingham (room TBC) on Sunday, October 2 from 6.15pm-7.45pm.

Speakers include: 

• Lord Bethell of Romford, former Minister for Health
• Henry Dimbleby, author of the independent National Food Strategy review
• Richard Walker, CEO, Iceland Foods
• Anna Quigley, Research Director at Ipsos UK
• Katharine Jenner, Director, Obesity Health Alliance

The event will be chaired by Ryan Shorthouse, Chief Executive, Bright Blue.

A second event, The whole plate: affordable, healthy and sustainable food, is being held in partnership with Nesta, and it is hosted by think tank Bright Blue.

It takes place in Birmingham (room TBC) on the Monday, October 3 from 12.30pm-1.45pm.

This panel discussion will look at improving the health of our food and what can the government and what the sector do to ensure access to food in a cost-of-living crisis. We will explore where in the food system responsibility lies to ensure everyone can access affordable, healthy and sustainable food.

We need a food system which prioritises health and wellbeing and enables everyone to access healthy and affordable options and which is supported by government action to ensure everyone can benefit from a healthy food environment.  

Key topics which will be discussed include:

• Is it right and worthwhile for the state to intervene in peoples' diets? 
• What more can be done by both the state and the market to ensure low-income families have access to both affordable and nutritious policies? 
• How can we ensure food manufacturers take responsibility for the health effects of their products?

Speakers include: 

• Jo Gideon MP
• Judith Batchelar
• Chris Smyth, Whitehall Editor, The Times
• Anna Taylor, The Food Foundation
• Ravi Gurumurthy, Nesta

The event will be chaired by Ryan Shorthouse, Chief Executive, Bright Blue.

Our final event is entitled: Food for the Future: School Food and the Levelling Up Agenda

We are holding this session in partnership with Nesta, BiteBack2030, School Food Matters and LACA, and is it hosted by think tank Onward.

The event will be held in Room 101, The Library of Birmingham, Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham (outside of the secure zone - no conference pass required) on Tuesday, October 4 from 11am-12pm.

This panel event will examine health disparities among young people and the role of school food in addressing health inequality.

We will discuss the role that junk food plays in children’s diets from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and the levers that exist to embed healthy eating from a young age, including extension of free school meals and efforts to improve the quality of school food.

Children and young people experiencing obesity are more likely to become adults living with excess weight and more likely to be affected by obesity related diseases. Ensuring the food they are given at schools is healthy and nutritious can be an important way to improve young people’s health and outcomes.

Speakers include:

• Michael Gove MP
• Henry Dimbleby
• Nick Capstick, chief executive of Whitehorse Academy Trust and Chair of School Food Review Working Group
• Christina Adane, Bite Back 2030 campaigner

It will be chaired by Laura Sandys, Chair of Trustees at The Food Foundation.

Speaking ahead of the events, Food Foundation Executive Director, Anna Taylor, said: “Children and young people experiencing obesity are more likely to become adults living with excess weight and more likely to be affected by obesity related diseases.

"Ensuring the food they are given at schools is healthy and nutritious can be an important way to improve young people’s health and outcomes."