Urban Food Awards 2020 Winners

Children’s Food Champion 

Organisations taking special steps to improve children’s food.    

Winner: Chefs in Schools - Revolutionising school food, Chefs in Schools came top of the class through its work with chefs to create a lunchtime norm of fresh, exciting, and nutritious food. @ChefsinSchools 

Highly Commended: Bubble & Squeak - integrating healthy eating, education and community, they improve access to healthy food and give children opportunities to grow and explore in the world of good food. 

Climate Champion 

Open to cafés and restaurants working to embed climate and nature friendly practices into their menus and ethos. In partnership with The Sustainable Restaurant Association 

Joint Winner: Castle Climbing Centre - The Castle Climbing Centre reaches great heights when it comes to sustainability. Using food mostly grown in their own permaculture garden, they strive to have minimal food waste, plastic use, and food miles!  @CastleClimbing  

Joint Winner: Well Kneaded - Well Kneaded is a sustainable pizzeria based in Earlsfield, London. From their sourcing and buying policies, to suppliers, materials and ingredients - climate and nature friendly practices dictate the menu and all of processes at Well Kneaded. @wellkneadedfood 

Community Market Champion 

Open to any market stall/ trader bringing fresh, healthy, affordable and sustainable food to city dwellers. 

Winner: Myatt’s Field Park project - Myatt’s Field Park Project grow and sell vegetables directly to their community and provide seedlings and advice for local growers starting out in gardens and community spaces - nurturing the new skills of their local residents! @myattsfield 

Highly Commended: OrganicLea Community Growers – The stall is a partnership between OrganicLea and the Hornbeam Centre. It offers fresh, organic and local produce, operates a no-waste policy and acts as an outlet for OrganicLea's surplus box scheme. @Organiclea 

Good Food for All 

Celebrating those helping older Londoners or those with disabilities, to enjoy access to good food. In partnership with City Harvest. 

Winner: London Independent Living Service (LILS) - helping older and vulnerable people stay independent and healthy in their own homes through their bespoke meals on wheel service and access to expert nutritionists and dietists. @LILSCamden 

Highly Commended: South Norwood community kitchen - working to give everyone access to delicious healthy food, cooked with love, and shared among friends through free three course meals, tackling social isolation and helping build strong community networks.  

Growing Wild 

Open to urban farms and food growing projects who enhance nature through their growing practices and planting schemes. In partnership with Capital Growth 

Winner: Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses - thisan acre of green space in the heart of hte park provideda haven for local people and wildlife to come together. @GardenBrockwell  

Highly Commended: Growing Communities - through their ‘patchwork’ farm across Hackney – formed of various small plots, and larger farm in Dagenham they were the first urban growers in London to be Soil Association certified, showing their commitment to working with nature to grow salad and veg to feed Londoners. @growcomm 

Ocean Friendly Caterer 

Celebrating committment to sustainable fish and reducing plastic in the supply chain. In partnership with the Marine Conservation Society. 

Winner: Soleshare - London’s first community supported fishery. The membership scheme is waste free, low-impact, supports Britain’s small-scale fishers and their communities, all whilst protecting the marine environment. @soleshare 

Highly Commended: Pesky Fish - their mission is to build a better and more sustainable seafood industry by tackling waste and ensuring complete traceability of fish by linking sellers directly to buyers, offering fishers’ full catch – reducing pressure on popular fish. @pesky_fish 

Super Social Enterprise 

Open to the enterprises supporting people into employment. With support from the London Growth Hub. 

Breadwinners: Super Social Enterprise Winners by Miles Willis

 Winner: Breadwinners - a grassroots social enterprise supporting refugees through training, mentoring and work selling artisan organic bread across London’s markets. @webreadwinners 

Highly Commended: Change Please - trains people experiencing homelessness to become baristas whilst also supporting people with housing, finances, mental wellbeing and into onward employment. @ChangePlease 

Young Food Ambassador 

Shining a spotlight on a young person, or small team, campaigning for a better food and farming system. In partnership with BiteBack 2030. 

Winners: Hammersmith Academy - The students at Hammersmith Academy have been creatively using the space they have to grow food and welcome nature into the school. @growgardeners 

Highly Commended: Growhampton -  this  sustainability programme, with a big focus on food, is run by Roehampton Students' Union at the University of Roehampton. @Growhampton 

Special Awards 

Food Foundation, Veg Power : Celebrating the work of Anna Taylor, Jo Ralling and Dan Park - the team behind the popular campaign, Veg Power – Eat them to defeat them, inspiring young people to eat more vegetables.    

Young Farmers (Surrey Docks):    A group of young people at Surrey Docks Farm who care for the youth allotment and wildlife garden.  Demystifying nature for young people and giving them a chance to reconnect with nature and food growing. 

Rainbow Grow: one of ten Food for Good Champions by Zoe Walde-Aldam

• Hadas Hagos, Waste Not Want Not Battersea - a charitable social enterprise founded by residents of Doddington and Rollo Estate. It diverts food waste and alleviates food poverty by redistributing food and sharing knowledge of healthy eating, bringing the community together through opportunities for social interaction, volunteering and training.  

• Migrateful - helps refugees and asylum seekers on their journey to employment and independence, promoting integration. Set up in 2017, it runs cookery classes led by migrant chefs struggling to integrate and access employment due to legal and linguistic barriers.  

• Cooking Champions - Clare Donovan is a teacher and qualified chef who has years of experience working with children with learning disabilities. In 2017, she created a catering and community interest company (CIC) called Cooking Champions, offering community cooking classes for various groups and Food Hygiene Level 2 training for pupils with learning disabilities.   

• Brixton Library read and Feed - During school holidays, Brixton Library runs twice-weekly activities and provides nutritious food for families living in food poverty.   

• Friends of Archbishops Park - FOAP has worked with those with special educational needs and those who are isolated or suffering from mental health issues for 20 years. Having transformed previously neglected areas of the park into gardens to grow food, people who are otherwise not in employment or education can attend weekly classes to gain skills in growing, cooking. social engagement and team leadership – all outdoors!  

• Woolwich Market Traders - The traders at Beresford Square – a market that has existed since the 1600s – teamed up with Greenwich council to launch the Healthy Start voucher scheme, providing local residents with access to affordable fruit and vegetables.  

• FoodCycle Peckham - Run by a small group of committed volunteers, FoodCycle provides free healthy, sustainable, vegetarian meals and a social point of contact for homeless, lonely, socially isolated people in a non-judgmental and safe space. In 2019, FoodCycle Peckham fed approximately 5,000 people. 

• Charles Gabriel, Head Chef, Stormont House –  this school in Hackney provides support for pupils with complex and inter-related special educational needs, which Charlie helps address through thoughtful use of food. 

• Rainbow Grow - this uniqueLGBTQI+ led community gardening initiative, providesa friendly growing space for members of the LGBTQI+ community. They grow edible plants giving their members new skills and access healthy food. 

• Usman Khalid, HAVEN Coffee - Founded by Usman Khalid, this is London's first coffee pop-up run by refugees. Usman helps refugees into employment through support, work opportunities, and barista training program. As well as creating a community space with great ethically sourced coffee.