Helen Burgess, founder of Little Cooks Co

Julia is joined by Helen Burgess, founder and director of Little Cooks Co, a monthly recipe box for kids.

Helen used to work in government as a senior civil servant, including at the Cabinet Office and Number 10, but has long been passionate about food and nutrition. She is a registered nutritionist and founded Little Cooks Co because she wanted to do her bit to get children excited about healthy, nutritious food and develop key cooking skills.

She talks to Julia about her concerns about ultraprocessed foods, government short-termism around food strategy and how to empower children to make good food choices. Plus, she shares a few tips and tricks from her days in government for how to make yourself heard by policymakers.

Articles discussed by Helen and Julia:

NHS to set up 15 special clinics in England for severely obese children | The Guardian

Urgent need to reduce children’s ultraprocessed food consumption | Technology Networks

Children eat meat unknowingly—perhaps in violation of a bias against animals as a food source | Anthropocene Magazine

Links to the big food and grocery retail stories this week:

Asda confirms Stuart Rose as chairman | The Times

Sustainable shopping: Asda begins selling beer on tap in new supermarket refill zone scheme | The i

George at Asda unveils pre-loved Gucci collaboration | Drapers

Food & drink industry launches roadmap to tackle sustainable water crisis | The Grocer

Rapid delivery service Getir to buy UK rival Weezy | The Guardian

Princes launches platform to collaborate with retailers on NPD | The Grocer

Tesco taps RangeMe product sourcing platform | Retail Tech Innovation Hub

Sales of eco-friendly pet food soar as owners become aware of impact | The Guardian

Co-op to run live ad on ITV to spotlight Community Fridges | The Drum