Eat the System

Cheese, Not everyone likes it, but those that do like it, tend to love it. Along with it's sometime partner, wine, it is one of those ancient foodstuffs that takes a few simple ingredients and seems produce infinite variety; thanks to traditional craft skills, and latterly, applied sciences.A few months ago I was sharing an Uber with Carlos, on the way home from a conference, and he let slip that he was in international cheese judge. Intrigued and delighted, I knew we just had to get him on the podcast 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that many of the listeners to this podcast will have a fair idea of what a community food organisation is, and what is does. Some of you at least will work for one. But for those of you less familiar with what they are and how they do it , prepare for a bit of a deep dive into the whys and wherefores of a sector that has increased massively; in numbers, and in social importance, over recent years.For those of you most familiar with this sector, it is always worth listening to another story. Because you know what they say, if you've met one community provider , then you've met just one community provider. The problems may be the same, but the solutions are as varied as they are inventive.EMS is a charity that has worked to reduce food and fuel poverty in Hull and the surrounding area for over 25 years. If, as you listen to this interview, it sounds vaguely familiar, they were finalists in the BBC Food and Farming awards in 2022. They also appear regularly in the national media and just this year won a BBC make a difference award.The keen eared among you may also realise that the John, who is mentioned at some point, appeared as a guest in episode 8.

This is the final episode of this mini-series .It marks 20 years since Hull City Council decided they would provide free school meals for all Primary pupils, saw that the regulations didn't allow for this, and then set about getting those regulations changed.We've spoken to the policy maker and the policy deliverer. In this episode it's time to hear from one of the teachers who worked in school when the Eat Well Do Well initiative came into being.Maureen Hulme was a primary school teacher in one the those neighbourhoods that benefited most from Eat Well Do Well. You may not recognise the names of Marfleet or Orchard Park, but the descriptions will be more than familiar. We opened this series with a politician's belief in how food could benefit his fellow citizens. We've closed the series with a teacher proving how right he was.

In the last episode of the pod cast we spoke with Colin Inglis, The Hull City Council leader who implemented the country's first ever provision of Universal Free School meals. Not only this, the council's catering department brought in a policy of providing healthy and nutritious meals, years before Jamie Oliver thankfully shamed the government into re-establishing minimum school food standards.In part 2 of this 3 part mini series it made sense to talk with someone who delivered these much improved, and universally free, school lunches.This where a bit of good luck plays it's part. Mike Clayphan was one of the managers of Hull Catering at the time of Eat Well Do Well, and after retirement he decided to spend a couple of years back in the kitchens working as a school cook. It just so happens he chose a school where I also work. So at the end of the summer term last year we got together in the school garden to say goodbye, and to talk about school food in general, and very much Eat Well Do Well in particular.

As I'm sure many of you are aware, there is a campaign to to implement universal free school meals for every school pupil, whatever their circumstances.perhaps, just perhaps, this is an idea whose time has come. It is, for the the being at least, already in operation in both Scotland and London.It may be a current consideration, but it's by no means a new idea.20 years ago, here in Hull, the council showed the political will necessary to make it happen, going as far as getting the law changed to allow this to happen.The Eat Well Do Well Scheme provided free school meals for every primary school pupil, and more than this, the council also ensued that the meals were of high quality, and nutritious at a time when successive government had abandoned the principle of maintaining school food standards.This is the first of three episodes about the Eat Well Do Well scheme, and examine how and why it was implemented, it's effects, and what we can learn for the current campaign In this episode I talk with Colin Inglis, the council leader who initiated this scheme, despite scepticism even from within his own party, So settle in for a story of high ideals and bruising politics.

I love a good trade show. I know they aren't everybody's cup of tea, so I went so that you don't have to. There is a scale as well as a complexity to the food system. Standing in the centre of the huge show, which is also a tiny part of a small section of just catering, you get an inkling of how big it is.In this episode I talk tp some of the exhibitors about food, but also some of the other businesses that serve the food industry, from packaging to software.