Nominations are open for Children's Food Awards 2027

Hurrah, the Children's Food Yummies and Yuckies are back! 

Nominations are now open for the most inspiring, impactful people in the world of children's food during 2025-2026: the unsung heroes, the creative campaigners, the local champions, the political movers and shakers, and the people going the extra mile to make sure children access healthy, sustainable and nutritious food. 

We're also on the search for the latest Yucky villains: the most misleading children's products and the companies getting in the way of healthy food policies.

The deadline for nominations is Sunday 8 November 2026. Our judging panel will meet in at the end of this year to agree the final winners. Our awards ceremony will take place in early 2027, at a special Children's Food Campaign summit - watch this space!  

Here are the categories that are open for your nominations now, and the links to nominate:

1. Yummy award for Outstanding Political Leadership on Children's Food - in partnership with the Obesity Health Alliance

This award recognises politicians and policymakers who have stuck their neck out during 2025-26 to improve children’s food, through their own initiatives, lobbying for regulations and investment and/or speaking out in public. Nominations can include MPs, peers, metropolitan mayors, leaders and politicians in the devolved nations or at local authority level.  You can nominate a single political leader, or a group of politicians (such as a committee or a council). 

Nominate for this award

2. Yummy award for Championing Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in children's food 

This award recognises an individual or organisation that has changed policies or practices to make them more diverse and inclusive in 2025-26. This might be by championing ethnic diversity in provision of children's food, or by calling out racial inequality in existing policy. Or it could be a platform led by people with first hand experience of injustice or food insecurity, or an initiative that is making food provision more accessible for children often overlooked and excluded. Nominees can be at local, regional or national level, we want to hear who the changemakers for a more diverse, inclusive children's food sector are! 

Nominate for this award

3. Yucky award for Children's Food Commercial Villain

Who are the companies or industry bodies that are putting profit before young people, standing in the way of progress on children’s food or actively obstructing children accessing healthier food. Who are the companies talking the talk, but never walking the walk? Who are the companies bending the ears of policymakers to stop them from acting for children's health? This award is for behaviour or an initiative in 2025-26. 

Nominate for this award

4. Yucky award for Most Misleading Children's Food Product - in partnership with Action on Salt and Sugar

This award recognises companies using techniques to make food and drinks seem healthier than they are through questionable marketing, packaging and labelling claims. For example, sugary breakfast cereals claiming to be ‘high in fibre’, or a toddler snack that pretends to be vegetables but is just a crisp in disguise. It might be the constant use of child-friendly cartoon characters to get kids pestering parents for unhealthy products. You can nominate specific food and drink products or a company that consistently misleads parents and young people on a range of its products. The product(s) must be on sale at some point during 2025 or 2026.

Nominate for this award

5. Yummy award for Best School Food Initiative or Campaign - in partnership with Bremner & Co.

This award is for outstanding projects, campaigns or organisations who have worked hard to improve school food in 2025-2026. They might have won change at a policy level or worked hard to make a real difference in their school canteen. They might have worked to increase healthiness, quality and access to school food, whether breakfast, lunch or during school holidays, or through food education. They might be working directly in the education sector (primary, secondary or tertiary - see early years award for pre-school), or with a charity or NGO or academic institution. They will have no direct commercial/for profit interest, but might be engaging with school caterers to drive greater impact. 

Nominate for this award

6. Yummy award for Best Early Years Nutrition Initiative or Campaign - in partnership with First Steps Nutrition Trust

This is for organisations or individuals with no commercial interests who are making a meaningful difference to diets, nutrition or the food environment for pregnant or breastfeeding women and/or for babies and young children during 2025-26. It might be on the food environment, in home or in early years settings and at local, regional or national level. 

Nominate for this award

7. Yummy award for Children's Food Young Changemaker - in partnership with the Food Foundation.

This award is for any young person up to the age of 21, who has taken initiative in 2025-26 to improve the food system in their school or college, or with their local community, or via raising awareness or teaching skills to others. They can be working at local, regional or national level.

Nominate for this award

8. Best Local Initiative Championing Children's Healthy Food - in partnership with the Soil Association.

This award is for local projects, campaigns or organisations with no commercial or for-profit motive, working with grassroots community groups and networks during 2025-26. It can be about defending against unhealthy food marketing, or providing education and skills or increasing access to healthy food for children. We're looking for great ideas and initiatives that other local areas might want to learn from and replicate.  

Nominate for this award