Isabel Hughes

The Food Foundation

Isabel joined the Food Foundation as Policy Engagement Manager in April 2020 from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where she worked on domestic and EU policy development.  For the past 6 years she has worked in a variety of roles across Government, spanning EU policy implementation at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, auditing the value for money of Cabinet Office programmes, and coordination of DEFRA’s no deal planning at the Department for Exiting the EU.  She has also previously project managed large-scale digital campaigns at AgeUK.

Isabel is interested in the links between different parts of the food system, and the possibilities for really ambitious, joined-up policy thinking to address poor environmental, social, health and economic outcomes.  Over the past two years she has completed a part-time MSc in Food Policy from City University, using her final thesis to analyse and critique the influencing strategies adopted by NGOs working on palm oil consumption in India.  She is a professionally-trained cook, and has recently discovered the joys of growing her own fruit and veg!