TRANSCRIPTHi, Sophie here as usual. This is just a very short piece of audio to let you know that the Foodies podcast will be taking a bit of a holiday until the later half of this year. As keen listeners will know, I’m undertaking a PhD at the moment as well as working a part time job. The PhD is coming to the pointy end which means my time and brain are almost at full capacity. Being able to do this podcast means the world to me and I want to be able to do it justice and give it the energy ...

In this episode Kim Anastasiou, a Research Fellow at the Stretton Health Equity Institute of the University of Adelaide, unpacks the impact that ultra processed foods are having not just on our health but also our environment and what this means for the work we do and the world we live in. Kim is an advocate for the transformative changes needed to create healthier and more sustainable food systems. Previously, Kim has held the roles of ‘Young Scientist’ for the UN FAO’s World Food Forum...

Dr. Fiona Willer is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy renowned for her advocacy of weight-neutral practices in healthcare.  Throughout the podcast episode, Fiona shares insights on why a weight neutral approach is necessary to progress population wellbeing, and how community health and food practitioners can identify weight stigma within programs and policies to challenge the obesity-centric language often used in these contexts.  With a...

Rowena Yamazaki is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian from YouthBlock - a specialist youth health service in Sydney. For the last 17 years Rowena has led the Yhunger program which aims to strengthen young people's food literacy skills and improve their food security status. Rowena talks about involving youth throughout all elements of food and nutrition programs. This episode touches on topics that you may find distressing, including the violence, abuse and neglect of children, eating...

Dr. Sue Kleve is a public health nutrition researcher and senior lecturer with the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food at Monash University. Sue has over 20 years’ experience working across community and public health nutrition settings in Australia. In this episode Sue provides insights into why more and more Australians are experiencing food insecurity in Australia and mechanisms to address the underlying determinants of this wicked problem.    For further information, check out...

Dr Alexandra Jones is a public health lawyer and researcher at The George Institute for Global Health within the Food Policy team.   This episode dives deep into the world of food policy and regulation, as Ali explains Front of Pack Labelling around the world with a particular focus on the Australian Health Star Rating. We talk about how this regulatory mechanism came about, how effective its been and what needs to happen to make it better for population health into the future.  For further...

Helen Vidgen is an Associate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at the Queensland University of Technology. This is Part Two of a two-part episode. This episode is all about Helen’s food literacy work and the global impact that it's had.If you’re unsure what food literacy is, why we should be considering it in our everyday work and how we can do this, then this is the episode for you.   For further information, check out Helen's researcher profile at the Queensland University of...

Helen Vidgen is an Associate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at the Queensland University of Technology. This is Part One of a Two-part episode. In this first episode we go through Helen’s incredible career journey in public health and community nutrition and dive deep into various topics including the lack of diversity in our workforce, how the public health nutrition workforce has evolved over the years, and how individuals can pursue and construct opportunities in this space.     For...

Professor Sharon Friel is an ARC Laureate Fellow, Professor of Health Equity and Director of the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse and the Menzies Centre for Health Governance at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) at the Australian National University. On today’s show Sharon talks about investigating the intersection of climate change, health and social inequities through the recently launched Planetary Health Equity Hothouse. We explore these three huge topics in the...

Dr. Cathy Wilkinson is the CEO of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation. The SAKG Foundation provides inspiration, information, professional development and support for educational institutions to deliver pleasurable food education for Australian children in conjunction with educators, partners and the wider community. As Cathy explains, this foundation and its repertoire of programs is all about nurturing children’s positive and pleasurable food experiences by going back to the...

The roles are reversed in this episode with podcast host Sophie Wright-Pedersen in the hotseat being interviewed by Donna Munari. Sophie talks about her public health nutrition journey so far, why she started this podcast and where it might go in the future. Check out all the podcast links below: - Alice Springs Food Security report - Cook Chill Chat program - PhD research page Connect with Sophie on Linked In or Twitter CONTACT US Send us your thoughts or questions about the episode...

Danielle Gallegos is a Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at the Queensland University of Technology. With over 30 years of experience, Danielle continues to contribute significantly to public health nutrition work - particularly in the areas of food security, food literacy and early childhood care. Danielle is the Director of the Woolworths Centre for Childhood Nutrition Research, an Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian (AdvAPD) and a Fellow of the Dietitians Australia (FDA).    In...

Professor Amanda Lee, of Public Health Policy in the Faculty of Medicine’s School of Public Health at the University of Queensland and Affiliate Professor at the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. Amanda is a Senior Adviser with The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University, Griffith University and the Queensland University of Technology, and Nutrition Consultant for Nganampa Health Council. In this episode we focus on food pricing and...

Khia De Silva is the Nutrition Manager at the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA). In this episode Khia talks about working as a nutritionist embedded within a retail environment to support the implementation of the ALPA Health and Nutrition strategy across ALPA’s retail businesses in top end Australia. We talk about balancing nutrition outcomes with financial viability of remote stores and Khia details Healthy Stores 2020, a sugar reduction strategy, within ALPA stores in...

Maree Thomson is the Managing Director for Hidden Harvest, a local food waste organisation. In this episode Maree talks through their advocacy work with Hidden Harvest, transforming the problem of food waste into delicious opportunities and serving up tasty insights into how we can cook up positive change in our kitchens at home.  For all things Hidden Harvest, visit and connect with their  Newsletter (+ volunteering opportunities)Instagram Facebook page & group (share your food waste...

Miranda Chester is a the School Breakfast Program coordinator at Food Bank Western Australia where she's been working for the last 14 years. In this episode, Miranda talks about how the Healthy Food for All nutrition team at Food Bank WA integrates within the larger organisation, particularly through the various Food Sensations Food and Nutrition Literacy Programs. Listen to Part One for the beginning of our conversation about Food Bank WA, School Breakfast Programs and Superhero Foods...

Miranda Chester is a the School Breakfast Program coordinator at Food Bank Western Australia where she's been working for the last 14 years. In this episode, Miranda talks about how the Healthy Food for All nutrition team at Food Bank integrates within the larger organisation, particularly the School Breakfast Program and Superhero Foods. Look out for Part Two to be released next for the rest of the conversation about the Food Sensations program.  For more information, visit the  Food Bank...

Dr. Stephanie Godrich is a senior lecturer at Edith Cowen University. Stephanie talks about the South West Food Community Project which is all about coordinating work in the food security space as a way to address this complex and wicked problem. Steph also gives an insight into her 16 years of experience working as a public health nutritionist in Western Australia and how she’s worked closely with a variety of stakeholders to achieve long-term nutrition programs and solutions. Check out...

Dr. Katherine Cullerton is a Research Fellow in the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland. Katherine has extensive experience working in in a range of public health sectors and settings in Australia and in the UK. Her current research focuses on why evidence doesn’t translate into policy and how advocates can better shape nutrition policy.  We talk all things politics, politicians and public health nutrition and Katherine gives some great ideas on how we can all, as...

Gina talks about her work as a public health dietitian working closely with community members and other key stakeholders in remote Central Australian Aboriginal communities. Gina emphasises embedding research into practice, the role of capacity building within the nutrition arena, and community ownership and empowerment within food and nutrition strategies and programs. Links to the Northern Territory Nutrition & Physical Activity page can be found here, and to get in touch with the...

Tina Gingell talks about her PhD which uses participatory action methods to involve people with lived refugee experiences and those who are newly arrived to Australia to investigate ways of improving their community's food security through better access to cultural foods. Tina also provides insight into her learnings of working collboratively with culturally diverse communties and the potential of collaborative research in this space.  Find out more about the Connecting with Cultural Foods...

Amy Carrad talks about the Strengthening Local Food Systems Governance project mapping local government policies in NSW and Victoria related to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems. Amy also provides some recommendations on how we may be able to empower local governments to take more action in this space.  Find out more about the Australian Local Food System Policy Database on the University of Sydney website, and Sustain: The Australian Food Network here.  CONTACT US  Send us...

Mel talks about her time working with First Nations communities co-desiging and delivering food and nutrition program within her role at Children’s Ground. Along the way, Mel reflects on some of her best moments and biggest learnings giving us an opportunity to consider participatory approaches to community and public health nutrition.  Find out more about Children’s Ground on their website, Instagram & Twitter CONTACT US  Send us your thoughts or questions about the episode or the...

Berbel talks about her collective action work at Food Fairness Illawarra and how championing local food has contributed to fairer, more sustainable and more resilient food systems. Berbel details the latest FFI projects including updating the website and the new online Wollongong Farmers Market as well as giving an insight into her learning of how to achieve effective collective action in the food system space.  Further content: Healthy Cities Illawarra can be found here Food Fairness...