Shaping the Future of Cheshire West: Phoebe’s Story
23 Oct 2026
Bite Back activist Phoebe reflects on our Shape Your Streets programme, and tackling junk food marketing in her local leisure centres.
When I first heard about Bite Back, it was through the Youth Senate and I had no clue what it was.
Then I got invited to a two-day workshop, and I jumped at the opportunity to find out more about this programme. On the first day, I arrived at the place where the workshops were being held and I was warmly welcomed by people whom I have never met before, but they seemed nice.
Once we started on the workshop I got really invested and interested in it. On day one we played lots of games and activities but my favourite was the buzzer game. We had to press the buzzer every time we saw an unhealthy shop or advertisement on the video. It really painted my perspective of actually how many unhealthy things are on a high street influencing us every day.
This is when I realised how much of an impact an unhealthy food environment has on people.
I wanted to know more about Bite Back and all the work they are doing. On the second day, when we filmed a short video in a leisure centre, spotting all the unhealthy products in there, this really excited me as I wanted to express my opinions where others will hear them. And of course, there were loads of unhealthy products!
I really took into account how all the unhealthy products they had there were promoted to young people. Like an ad for ice cream on a freezer, where I saw a young girl pleading to her mum about wanting an ice cream as the freezer was placed in an open area where it's really noticeable.
But the most appalling thing that I saw there was when I went to get water from the vending machine and it actually offered me an unhealthy drink option! This shows how brands manipulate people into wanting to buy an unhealthy drink when they are trying to be healthy.
After the workshop, Beth (one of the youth workers) came up to me and told me that the video we had filmed had gone up onto the official Bite Back website. I was thrilled because I could share my point of view and have my voice heard by others. This helps people who have opinions and good ideas to also pluck up the courage to come forward and express them. Not everyone is confident, and sometimes even the most confident people can get nervous.
Beth also told me that the team at Bite Back had loved my work and had asked if I would do a presentation for the council — which I was more than happy to do! On the day of the presentation we walked into the meeting, heads held high but slightly nervous.
I spoke about the leisure centre not only advertising unhealthy food products but also serving unhealthy options that would harm our health in a place where we went to be healthy. At the end of the meeting the manager of one of the leisure centres (Brio) came up to me and said:
“You quite literally crucified me up there, and you have put a fresh perspective on things.”
This made me feel all bubbly inside as that is the kind of reaction I wanted. I really needed to get my opinion across to people I know will make a change. After the presentation, I had a discussion with Hannah from the Bite Back team and inquired about being part of the Bite Back project as I felt very passionate about the subject.
Bite Back is something that this world needs, as young people all across England and Scotland are struggling with the food standards in school. School food is just blatantly terrible and no one can deny it.
Why I continued my journey as an activist
More and more teenagers want to start living healthy lifestyles but school food is making that hard for them. It’s even harder if you want to be healthy and you have an allergy or intolerance, because school food does not cater for everyone.
But Bite Back isn't just about school food, it is about food and health in general everyday life. I feel like my experience is heard properly, along with other young people, and it helps me share with others about the world around me.
My first day with Bite Back was at the Easter Event. I met the others travelling from my region to go as a group down to the place it was being held, where I met up with people from all around the country. The place was massive and the event was inspiring. The food was nice and I loved sitting down and talking to others from across England and Scotland about their experiences.
It made me feel less alone and it also made me crave change for school meals.
Bite Back is something I never thought I would ever do or could even do. I have only been here for a few months but it has felt like a lifetime. I have made so many new friends, including a lovely girl called Isla, and I have met so many new people.
Bite Back is such an amazing organisation to be involved in. I definitely want to get more involved in it. Especially as the topic we are doing at the moment is school dinners and I have a lot to say about them. This has become a new chapter in my life that I want to experience for years to come.