Meet our 2025 Food Policy Interns

2025 Food Policy Programme Interns, from L to R: Nenjamin Lee, Sarah Cletheroe, Eunice Lamptey and Kristen Bailey

We are delighted to announce the first cohort of our Food Policy Internship Programme for Nottingham students. Four students, from two faculties at the University of Nottingham have been selected to work with our Centre for Food Policy and Foresight (CFPF) Associates from February to July 2025 on food education, security, and environmental sustainability projects.

Our interns have been matched with our Associates, to work on eight projects across two blocks in the current academic year. Each intern will work on two topics with the associated academic team during the six-month programme. The programme is aimed at fostering policy engagement and communications between academics and policy makers facilitated by the publication of policy briefs and slide decks on a wide range of food system projects happening across the university. This is also an opportunity for cross-faculty and interschool learning and interaction. Read more about the internship programme.

These projects address several food systems topics and challenges, from food banks’ role in communities, to reducing carbon emissions from the dairy industry, to controlling zoonotic diseases caused by environmental impacts of agri-food production, to community-based interventions addressing food insecurity and secondary school education programmes debunking food misconceptions.

Block One – February to April

Strategies to control epidemic diseases in animals

To limit the challenges imposed by climate change in food producing animals, Kirsten Bailey, School of Biosciences, will work with Dr Rachael Tarlinton to identify new ways to combat diseases resulting from higher temperatures. Dr Tarlinton is a CFPF Associate Professor in Veterinary Virology, at the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences.

Strengthening food and farm labour value in UK media and public discourse

Eunice Lamptey from the School of Sociology and Social Policy will help Dr Anne Touboulic at the Business School, who investigates the role of the media and public discourse that renders farmers invisible. The recommendations and outputs will focus on the perspectives of farming communities in public discourse on food production systems.

Advancing bio-accessibility of mineral micronutrient diets

Sarah Cletheroe, will develop her skills in innovative nutrition practices in communities working with Professor Liz Bailey and Dr Molly Muleya. The project will build on research reviewing bio-accessibility of calcium and other food components in plant-based products. Sarah is also interested in a food secure future, and the outputs of this project will make the case for ensuring food products supply better sources of calcium.

Enhancing food access for disabled populations

To further his interests in understanding how the food system intersects with nutritional access, Benjamin Lee, BSc Food Science student at the School of Biosciences will be working with Dr Alanna Higgins to understand socio-environmental issues around food access for disabled populations. Understanding how different communities experience food insecurity is crucial in shaping policy that address the causes of food insecurity.

Block Two – April to July

Tackling food poverty with transformative food bank services

This project is aimed at understanding how foodbanks influence our understanding and notions of food poverty, and interactions with foodbank users. This project will focus on helping communities and policy makers understand how foodbanks can play a more transformative role in society. This project is led by Professor Mihaela Keleman at the University of Nottingham Business School, who will work with Benjamin Lee to develop the outputs.

Improving outcomes for dairy industry carbon emission reductions

Kirsten Bailey will join Professor Rachel Gomes, at the Faculty of Engineering to develop resources based on research into energy mapping for carbon emission reductions in the dairy industry to drive net zero carbon targets for businesses and develop tested models for a greener food and beverage sector. Kristen’s background is in environmental science and biology, and she’s interested in how our food systems impact the environment.

Addressing food insecurity through place-based approaches to nutrition and health

After supporting Anne, Eunice Lamptey will work with Professor Sally Hibbert and Dr Simon Welham, building on their joint project looking at food insecurity through place-based approaches to nutrition and health. Prof. Hibbert at the Business School, and Dr Welham from the School of Biosciences are part of our Community Food Security group and work with community-based organisations to investigate initiatives to enhance food access and nutritional security for communities.

Debunking Food: A public engagement food programme on food systems and individual food learning

Sarah Cletheroe, will be working with Associate Professor Seamus Higgins to develop resources for an interactive public engagement programme for secondary school students in the UK. Seamus is based at the Chemical and Engineering Department at the Faculty of Engineering, teaching on the MSc Food Process Engineering course.

Would you like follow their journey?

We will be sharing the outputs of programme and research on our website, and in our quarterly newsletters. Keep track of this work by following LinkedIn and X social media accounts, and subscribe to our newsletter.