The Ingredients for Change

Author: Sophie Spooner

‘Cooking up a Storm: The Revolutionary Power of Cooking in the Curriculum’, an online event at the Learning Planet Festival 2025, brought together people passionate about food, community, and a more sustainable way of living.

This blog tucks into how the ingredients for change were laid out and the role of food education was clearly served up in discussions as a powerful potential in shaping a more resilient and connected future. The insights and commitment shared during this event offer a hopeful trajectory for a future where food literacy is recognised as a fundamental aspect of holistic education, and a vital contribution to societal and planetary well-being.

At the heart of the menu were the inspiring efforts of two Welsh initiatives: Cegin y Bobl ("The People's Kitchen") and Cegin Hedyn ("Seed Kitchen"). These initiatives are active hubs working to share knowledge, build confidence, and strengthen the vital connections within our communities through food.

Setting the Table

Luci Attala, Deputy Executive Director of BRIDGES, laid out the sharp clarity of Occam's Razor, that often the simplest solutions hold the most power. 

Luci suggests that learning about healthy food and how to cook in current times, where for so many there is a disconnect, is a fundamental act that can ripple outwards, strengthening our relationship with the environment, equipping us with invaluable life skills, and fostering a deeper understanding of the food that nourishes us.

She used the simple, circular act of stirring to represent the blending of new ideas and a rejection of the repetitive, failing approaches that have caused the food system crisis. Invoking Dr. Bayo Akomolafe's metaphor of the ant death spiral, where ants, repeating the same pattern, blindly spiral to their doom, as a stark parallel to our global situation; but offering hope, that "our panel have broken the spell...creating a gentle revolution through a change in direction."

Getting Stuck In

The panellists then got stuck in (think eating with your hands) sharing a taste of their valuable perspectives:

Simon Wright, co-founder of Cegin y Bobl, drawing on his extensive background in the food industry, spoke passionately about food and community from an experienced viewpoint. 

While acknowledging the often-slow pace of systemic change at higher levels, his enthusiasm for and belief in the power of the community-led work of Cegin y Bobl is incredibly encouraging. Their focus on building food literacy and leadership from the ground up is a crucial ingredient in fostering a more engaged and empowered population, inspiring scalable, ecologically restorative solutions.

Simon spoke with real hope, of the deep-seated desire for change he has witnessed within communities, observing that teachers, once empowered by food leadership training, can become agents of change within their schools. He placed emphasis on the importance of re-engaging young people with food. His proposed three-forked strategy; engaging children, embedding change through leadership, and ensuring healthy school lunches, hinges on a key realisation: lasting change in school, home, and societal food culture requires a fundamental shift in understanding and valuing food. Nurturing this shift, is at the heart of the food leadership and cooking courses that Cegin y Bobl provide.

It's clear how vital the work of Cegin y Bobl is, offering an example of how empowering individuals with food knowledge and culinary skills can ripple outwards, fostering resilience and positive change.

Barny Haughton, a long-time advocate for food education through The Square Food Foundation, and now part of the Cegin y Bobl crew, spoke with conviction about its fundamental role in public health. 

The work of The Square Food Foundation, in providing essential skills to marginalised communities is another solid example highlighting the direct impact of empowering individuals with the ability to nourish themselves.

Chiming with Simon’s ethos, Barny places emphasis on the need to engage teachers, cooks, and students in reshaping school food culture, highlighting the importance of a collaborative and inclusive strategy for lasting transformation. Barny also senses a readiness for change, encouraged by his engagement with school cooks, who are keen to progress, when provided with the necessary tools and knowledge. This offers a clear message: the desire for improvement and something different exists; it requires cultivation.

Barny’s focus on the practical, firsthand experience of cooking and growing food as crucial for understanding our food system, completely resonates with me as a call for a more direct connection to the land, nature, and our sources of nourishment.

Both Simon and Barny present a path that simply feels like ‘the way to go.’ I share their frustration with how slow change takes to take shape but feel a deep-rooted sense of hope from their efforts. It’s heartening that in my local area, across the UK, and globally, there are initiatives taking place on the ground, which are challenging the state of our food system by taking action, empowering communities, “cooking up a storm”, and making change happen.

Carwyn Graves, Cegin y Bobl co-founder, bringing his expertise and passion for Welsh food history, the landscape, language, and literature, added a deep cultural dimension to discussions. 

His insights into the connections between language, identity, and food practices in Wales illustrate the importance of understanding and valuing local heritage in shaping our relationship with food.

Carwyn explored the value of traditional dishes as cultural anchors and as a powerful reminder of the social and communal significance of eating. Through the evocative example of Cawl, a dish inseparable from the Welsh landscape and soul, he spoke of how food embodies not just sustenance but centuries of tradition, social customs, and a strong and beautiful sense of place. Carwyn’s exploration of other traditional Welsh dishes, rooted in the land and sea, aligned a vivid picture of a cultural heritage intrinsically linked to the act of gathering, growing, preparing, and sharing food.

The heartfelt recollections of poetry Carwyn touched upon, being integral to his childhood food experience, present in both daily life and significant events like birthdays, really resonate with my own experience of poetry, custom, nature, and food being a part of the everyday.

He spoke of the need for a more integrated approach to food in education, braiding it through diverse subjects, providing insight for a richer, more relevant, and multifaceted learning experience. Carwyn’s vision is to rekindle a positive relationship with food, particularly among future generations, as a vital act of cultural preservation and societal and environmental well-being.

Deri Reed, the driving force behind ‘Cegin Hedyn,’ provided a powerful illustration of direct community action, full of a feel-good sweetness that “warms the cockles” and restores hope. 

A thriving initiative of a pay-what-you-can community kitchen, the Cegin Hedyn model offers a tangible response to food access disparities and fosters a strong sense of local solidarity. The initiative’s reliance on community involvement and its commitment to providing healthy, accessible food highlights the vital role of grassroots efforts in addressing immediate needs and building local resilience.

I could feel Deri’s genuine desire to make good, sustainable food accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. He shared how Cegin Hedyn emerged from the challenges of COVID-19; being a chef and seeing his friends unable to eat good, organic, food and the growing numbers of people unable to afford a decent meal, he decided to do something. Turning an empty church kitchen into a hub of community, fuelled by local, seasonal produce grown in their community allotment, and the hands of volunteers, is a powerful demonstration of what’s possible with ingenuity, dedication and a whole lotta love!

The way Deri described food as a connector, combating loneliness and building community spirit, resonated deeply. Cegin Hedyn has at its heart, the fostering of belonging; the seed from which all good things can grow!

There is a vital spark and future scope in small, local projects that have a big, far-reaching impact and the potential to grow and be adapted elsewhere. The practical and compassionate response to food inequality through Cegin Hedyn is incredibly inspiring; a clear example of how small, local projects can make a massive difference and build a stronger, more caring community.

Mixing of Ideas

The subsequent Q&A session saw a valuable exchange of ideas, reflecting a shared commitment to tackling the multifaceted challenges within our food system. The discussions around holistic approaches, community engagement, and the integration of sustainability into education illustrate a growing appetite for comprehensive and interconnected solutions, which have the wellbeing of the planet, and current and future generations, as anchors.

A Roots Perspective

The ‘Cooking up a Storm’ event illuminated the significant potential of food education and community-led initiatives in cultivating a more sustainable and equitable food future. While the need for large-scale systemic change is becoming increasingly time sensitive, the dedication and practical efforts of individuals and organisations like Cegin y Bobl and Cegin Hedyn offer crucial foundations and valuable insights. Their work imparts essential skills and strengthens community bonds, providing valuable models for broader application.

Integrating food education into our everyday lives holds considerable promise for empowering individuals and fostering a deeper understanding of our relationship with food, our health, and the environment.

The impact of the work being done in communities by organisations such as Cegin Hedyn and Cegin y Bobl clearly shows there is much to be learnt from action being taken ‘on the ground.’ These local, community-based initiatives also provide a full plate of evidence in support of considering the experience and needs of citizens, with a more direct part to play and an informed choice and voice in the food that reaches our tables. Echoing this, the recently published Future Generations Report 2025 highlights that Welsh citizens want firmer action on food policy and that a priority for Wales should be access to local, affordable, and sustainable food. The evidence for change is so tangible you can taste it!

Recipes for Resilience

The ongoing research by the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Sustainable Food Cymru Project aims to play a vital role in learning from the transformative potential of these community-based approaches, which promote nature-benefitting solutions that can be widely adopted, with potential to inform future policy and action. By understanding the impact of these efforts and identifying effective strategies, we can work towards a more resilient and just food system for all.

Edible Evolution

The initiatives highlighted at this online virtual kitchen table, make it easy to visualise a world where our connection to food becomes a lens through which we understand and live in harmony with the world around us. The energy and thoughtful engagement evident, mirrors a growing recognition globally, of the power of food as a catalyst for meaningful change.

Next up on the Menu

Change. It’s a gut feeling.

Watch the recording of this event

Learn more about these inspiring initiatives

Cegin y Bobl; Cegin Hedyn; Square Food Foundation.