Dame Emma Thompson meets with UK Children’s Minister

The Minister and a group of seven of the Young Food Ambassadors for the Children’s Right2Food Campaign were joined by their Ambassador Dame Emma Thompson and Food Foundation Executive Director Anna Taylor for a Zoom meeting on Thursday, November 26, where they spoke about their shared ambition to tackle childhood obesity and improve access to nutritious meals for all children, especially those most disadvantaged.

It follows the Government’s announcement of a £170 million (€189 million) support package for the most vulnerable over winter and the expansion of the £220 million (€245 million) Holiday Activities and Food programme to cover Easter, summer and Christmas in 2021.

Children’s Minister Vicky Ford said: “I’m so grateful for the energy and dedication shown by the Young Food Ambassadors, who have shared their experiences with me of school food and healthy eating.

“We all agree on the importance of a healthy, nutritious meal and the impact it can have on children’s development. Through our expanded Holiday Activities and Food programme, thousands more young people will benefit from this during the Easter, summer and Christmas breaks next year,” she concluded.

The Minister spoke to the Young Ambassadors about their experiences of healthy eating at school and encouraged them to work with the Governments from across the four nations to promote this.

She also invited Dame Emma to visit a Holiday Activities and Food project next summer after the expanded programme has been rolled out across England.

The Ambassadors, who met with the Minister earlier in the summer to discuss their ‘Right2Food’ charter and new podcast series, spoke positively about the expansion of the holiday activities programme and the increase in the value of Healthy Start vouchers from £3.10 (€3.45) to £4.25 (€4.73) a week from April 2021.