School Food Matters

Our mission is to ensure that every child enjoys fresh sustainable food at school and understands where their food comes from.

To achieve this we listen to schools, parents and children. Together we urge local authorities to improve school meals and to support food education through cooking, growing and links with local farms.

School Food Matters is a registered charity number 1134094.

About us

Stephanie Wood

Stephanie is Founder and Charity Director. After 20 years working in film production she decided to stop, enjoy time with her two children and get an allotment.  In 2007 she met Zac Goldsmith who inspired her to set up School Food Matters.  She is now a member of the London Food Board and the Food for Life Catering Mark Standards Committee and in her spare time is a school governor.  In a previous life she did voluntary work for Greenpeace.

 Isla Meynell

Isla joined School Food Matters in 2010 as Development Officer.  Previously she lived in New York where she was Marketing Director for the non-profit organisation Project For Public Spaces.  She then moved to Shelter Island (NY) where she researched a local food guide of Eastern Long Island and set up an after-school cookery club at her son’s school.  Before moving to the US, she was Events Director at Henrietta Green’s Food Lover’s Fairs.

Our Patron

Rosie Boycott

Rosie is a journalist and author. In 1971 she co-founded Spare Rib and later became editor of The Independent on Sunday, The Independent, and The Express. In 2008 she was appointed as Chair of London Food, established by the Mayor of London to help improve Londoners' access to healthy, locally produced and affordable food. Rosie also runs a community gardening project in Somerset.

Trustees

School Food Matters is governed by a board of trustees.

Mark Esiri

Mark is a Partner of Venrex a private investment company which backs entrepreurs in potentially high growth businesses. These include companies such as Orlebar Brown, Notonthehighstreet.com, Just-Eat and Astley Clarke. Mark is a trustee of Save the Children UK and is on the Board of Knightsbridge School. He is married with 3 children and lives in London.

Lindsay Graham

Lindsay is a school food and health advisor. A former community nurse and civil servant, she set up Lindsay Graham Ltd (LGL) in 2007 specialising in advice to government agencies, local authorities and PCTs on School food and health promotion. Her clients across the UK include Food Standards Agency, Welsh Assembly, Health Scotland, School Food Trust. She is also a previous founder and director of two Highland based children's charities.

Frances Harris

Frances is a Senior lecturer in geography and environmental science at Kingston University. She has been involved on research on food and farming since 1992, initially working in Africa, and more recently in the UK. Her recent research concerns educational visits to farms, forest schools, and the promotion of outdoor learning. She coordinates farm visits, Open Farm Sunday, and forest school activities on a farm in Hertfordshire.

Dora Loewenstein

Dora Loewenstein Associates (DLA) was launched in London in 1992 as a specialist event management company for private, fundraising and corporate events. In addition to her working life, Dora is a member of the National Development Board of the NSPCC and a Trustee of the Mustique Charitable Trust.

Ben Reynolds

Ben is Network Director at Sustain: the alliance of better food and farming and co-ordinates London Food Link. Ben came up with the idea for the Capital Growth project, supported by the Mayor of London, to create 2,012 food growing spaces in London by 2012. Ben edits the free ethical food magazine The Jellied Eel and Rhubarb, the magazine for Sustain's Local Action on Food network.

Max Beazley

Max is a corporate lawyer with US law firm Dorsey & Whitney. His practice includes M&A work, public company work and fundraising for a variety of clients in the UK and abroad. Max is married with 2 children and lives in London.