International Women’s Day 2024 – Report
We celebrated International Women’s Day this year with a passionate and inspiring debate on Food for Good: Women Changing Lives Through Food.
A group of 50 plus – LDE London members and guests – gathered in the Food and Drink Studio at Fortnum and Mason’s flagship store to listen to our excellent panel talk about making a difference through their work in food. We had a lively debate on what we, collectively and individually, can do to bring about changes in the face of official inaction.
The debate was chaired by outstanding food journalist Sheila Dillon, one of our Dame Patrons, who set the tone with an impassioned introduction about the high level of ultra processed food consumption in the UK, the increase in sickness through non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, the lack of joined up thinking on how to tackle the state of our food system, what happens when you let the market decide and much more besides.
Giving their personal perspective on the power of food in making a real difference to lives, our inspirational panel were members were:
Lucy Vincent, member of LDE London and founder and chief executive of Food Behind Bars, the UK’s only registered charity dedicated to transforming the food served in British prisons. Lucy talked about her work educating staff and prisoners on providing nutritious food and understanding how to cook it. She talked about a recent trip to prisons in Scandinavia where, in a stark contrast to the UK, there is better funding, pride in the food produced, an emphasis on nutrition and a sense that the really food matters. In the UK, the budget for a prisoner’s food is just £2.70 a day. This contrasts with £14 a day for a hospital patient – although in many hospitals it doesn’t taste as though this is the level of funding.
Nicole Pisani, chef, co-founder and executive chef of the school food charity Chefs in Schools. Formerly head chef at Nopi, Nicole decided 10 years ago that it was time to do something more powerful with her career and putting nutritious food on the plates of school children was the direction she felt most important to her. Emphasising the need to value the people who feed our schoolchildren, Nicole talked about the importance of providing hot meals in schools and the impact on children’s learning.
Dee Woods, award winning food actionist, member of the Food Ethics Council, celebrated cook, urban agroecologist and earth wisdom keeper. Dee advocates for good food for all and a just food system. Dee talked about co-founding Granville Community Kitchen and the need for a collective approach to food, food security and dignity for all. With up to one fifth of people in the UK unable to afford to eat, something is seriously wrong with our system and she is determined to work to improve things, from the bottom up and the top down.
Angela Hartnett, Michelin starred chef, author and one of the most high-profile women in the restaurant world. Angela talked about growing up in a home where no food was wasted, where eating together was important and food was for sharing. Angela was inspired by the way the hospitality industry came together during the Covid pandemic to help each other and to provide food where it was most needed – through Cook-19, Angela and her team delivered more than 20,000 meals to NHS workers.
The audience reacted enthusiastically during the Q & A, speaking eloquently and giving us all plenty to think about. There was a real sense of energy in the room – women seeking positive change within the food industry within the UK. There were lively discussions ranging from the negative impact of poor-quality food in hospitals, schools, prisons to the lack of focus on food education and a need for everyone to learn how to cook from scratch. Questions were raised around the lack of a coherent UK food policy and why we don’t have a Ministerial position dedicated to food.
The debate continued enthusiastically post the event, with lots of comment on social media and a positive look towards what role women can play across the industry to continue to make changes for good through food.
If you missed the event, do share your thoughts on our social media channels and remember, every day should be International Women’s Day – at LDE London we celebrate women in the industry every day of the year.
