Bite Back in Communities

A young black woman with afro style curly hair is smiling and holding her hand out as the paper form of rock paper scissors

Is your local food scene flooded with junk? Bite Back is committed to improving everyone’s access to healthy food.

It should be easy for us to be healthy. But it isn’t. It’s rigged against us from the start: our world is flooded with junk food, and the billions that the global food giants pump into advertising makes sure it always plays the starring role.

We’re here to change that.

Bite Back is driving grassroots change up and down the country, working closely with UK Youth. Our Community Food Champions are digging deeper into the challenges that many young people face accessing healthy and nutritious food — and helping lead social action projects to make a difference in their local area.

Since 2021, over 500 passionate young people like you have helped shape a world where we all have the chance to be healthy, no matter where we live.

What Have We Achieved So Far?

Community Food Champions

After a nationwide series of launch events, the young activists gathered alongside other campaigners in their region for an inspiring call to arms from our incredible Bite Back Youth Board.

Freshly fired up, our community activists came together in workshops to explore the many injustices and limitations of our current food system. A competition to record local food prices on a digital map led to around 2,700 food items being logged from all across the country, revealing striking inequalities in our access to healthy food.

After sharpening their leadership, campaigning and communication skills, our Community Food Champions then pitched their ideas for changemaking social action projects to a panel of the Bite Back team, fellow young activists and local stakeholders — with 17 campaigns winning funding to turn their ideas into reality.

These include campaigns to:

  • End junk food marketing in Peterborough. Young activists have brought together stakeholders at both County and City Council level – and through a successful online petition, won enough support to be discussed by the Council.
  • Replace junk food posters on public transport in Leeds. Young activists at Health for All Inspiring Futures have designed alternative posters to help stem the flood of unhealthy food advertising. They are writing to local bus companies and the local authority for support.
  • Improve the healthy food options available on match days at Sheffield Wednesday FC, and remove billboard ads for junk food at the stadium. Young activists from Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme have launched a survey to gather thoughts from the public, with a prize draw to win a signed shirt.
London Pitch Event Community Food Champions November 2022

The change I’d like to see in Brixton is the elimination of food deserts, and having more nutrition friendly shops, businesses and enterprises. I’d also like to see decision makers take their role more seriously and listen to their constituents...and for nutritious food to be available to every young person in Brixton.

Roland, age 16

Community Food Champion

Bite Back in Communities is funded by the #iWill Fund. The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities.

iWill logo in a yellow rectangle, with the words 'proudly supporting youth social action' on top, next to the words 'Department for Culture, Media and Sport' in black text and on the right hand side the word 'Community' in bright pink all caps and 'Fund' in black all caps text underneath, next to a logo of a hand with a smiley face on it.

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