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Bang in Some Beans: A new recipe for school dinners

The Food Foundation Podcast··16 October 2026·23 min

About this episode

What if every child had access to a school meal that fuels concentration, boosts their fibre and protein intake and doesn't break the bank? In the first episode of Series 2 of Bang in Some Beans, the voice of the Food Foundation and Veg Power's mission to get the UK eating more beans by 2028, Melissa Hemsley looks at the role that beans can play in school food. As new school food standards take effect, this episode visits the classrooms and kitchens already ahead of the curve. Dr Fatma Sabet of the University of Exeter has spent the summer trialling Feed, a school-dinner staple made from Devon venison and UK-grown legumes, winning over the toughest critics of all: primary school pupils. In Birmingham, coach Mohammed Uddin's bean cupcake workshops are teaching children the nutrition case for beans in their own words. In this episode:● Meet Feed: wild venison and UK legumes, disguised as a school meatball● What the kids actually thought (7.5 out of 10, and a request for pasta)● Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on why school food policy needs teeth● Inside a Birmingham bean cupcake workshop with primary-age critics Featuring: Dr Fatma Sabet, Ellie Fairchild, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Mohammed Uddin, Pam Noel, and Shivi Ramoutar. Click here for more information on Bang in Some Beans, and here for all the recipes in the series. Click here for series 1 of Bang in Some Beans Produced by Gilly Smith Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.