By turning office snacks into social value, Oakwood Solicitors is joining forces with Rethink Food Leeds to ensure no child is held back by food insecurity.
Oakwood Solicitors Partnership
At Oakwood Solicitors, we believe that a thriving community begins with healthy, supported children. We are proud to announce our official partnership with Rethink Food Leeds, an award-winning non-profit dedicated to ensuring no child is held back by hunger.
Through our new subscription to Rethink Food’s Corporate Office Boxes, our team is turning everyday office snacks into tangible social value. This partnership allows us to support a movement that provides food security, education, and dignity to families across the UK.
Our team members, Kamile Banyte and Erin McKeown, recently spent a rewarding day volunteering alongside the fantastic staff at the Rethink warehouse. Check out our TikTok below for an inside look at their experience!
Who is Rethink Food?
Born in the classroom and built for the community, Rethink Food was founded by teachers who saw first hand how hunger impacts a child’s ability to learn and thrive.
Rethink Food began in an area of high deprivation in Yorkshire. Today, they are recognised as one of the UK’s Top 100 social enterprises (NatWest SE100 Index 2025).
Using their experience in education, their mission is simple but profound: Healthy People, Healthy Planet. By addressing food insecurity and promoting environmental consciousness, they are empowering the next generation to make positive, lasting changes.
Making a National Impact: The School Pantry Network
A core pillar of our partnership is supporting the National School Pantry Network (NSPN). This initiative transforms schools in highly deprived areas into “trusted hubs” where families can access nutritious food in a stigma-free environment.
The NSPN provides direct funding, training, and wraparound support to schools in areas of high deprivation, enabling them to run stigma-free school pantries that families trust.
More Than Just a Meal
The statistics are a call to action: 4.5 million children in the UK are currently living in poverty. This isn’t about hunger; it’s about the missed opportunities and lost potential that occur when a child cannot concentrate because they haven’t eaten.
The NSPN addresses this by providing schools with:
- Direct Funding & Infrastructure: Enabling schools to purchase nutritious food sustainably.
- Wraparound Support: Training and tools to help schools manage food provision alongside education.
- Empowerment through Education: Teaching families about nutrition and food literacy to create long-term resilience.
A Government-Recognised Model of Success
The effectiveness of this community-led model has been recognised at the highest level. The NSPN was recently featured as a key case study in the Government’s 2025 Child Poverty Strategy, Our Children, Our Future.
This acknowledgement reinforces what we at Oakwood Solicitors believe: that local, trusted solutions are vital to ending child poverty.
Hunger is not just about empty stomachs; it’s about ensuring that no child’s future is limited by their circumstances. By supporting the NSPN, we are helping to build stronger, healthier communities from the ground up.
Get involved. Support a school pantry. Be part of the change.
Inspiring the “Agents of Change”
Beyond providing food, Rethink Food focuses on long-term education through their Agents of Change programme. This initiative equips primary school pupils with the knowledge to make informed choices about nutrition and sustainability.
From Eco Clubs and Breakfast Clubs to curriculum-aligned classroom resources, the programme empowers children to become leaders in their own health and well-being.
The programme aligns with curriculum goals and educational standards, facilitating integration into teaching plans. It engages students with relatable agents and interactive resources, making learning enjoyable.
Additionally, it supports health and well-being by promoting mental health, physical activity, and nutrition, while encouraging pupil leadership and community role models.
The Team & Mission Behind the Impact
The Rethink Food team, led by visionary co-founders with backgrounds in education, is a dynamic collective of teachers, programme managers, and volunteers. Their unique expertise allows them to deliver impactful, curriculum-led initiatives that resonate with schools across the UK.
This work is fuelled by the generosity of partners and donors. By investing in Rethink Food, supporters help address critical issues like food insecurity and mental well-being, providing the next generation with the tools to build a healthier, more sustainable future.
Nathan Atkinson, co-founder at Rethink Food:
“We’re delighted to welcome Oakwood Solicitors as our latest office box subscriber. Their support helps us redistribute nutritious food, reduce waste, and strengthen the National School Pantry Network, ensuring more children and families have access to the food they need.
Partnerships like this show how businesses can make a practical, meaningful difference in tackling food insecurity and health inequality, and we’re incredibly grateful to Oakwood Solicitors for getting involved.”
How You Can Get Involved
Our partnership is just the beginning. Rethink Food offers numerous ways for individuals and organisations to support their mission:
- Fundraising: From office challenges to community events, every penny helps tackle food insecurity.
- Volunteering: Rethink Food welcomes both regular volunteers and short-term groups to assist with their operations.
- Food Donations: They accept fresh, frozen, and ambient produce from retailers, wholesalers, and individuals seven days a week.
- Corporate partnerships: Rethink corporate partnerships assist businesses in enhancing social and environmental value by creating tailored learning modules promoting improved food security.
Oakwood Solicitors is honoured to stand alongside Rethink Food. Together, we can ensure that every child has the nourishment and stability they deserve to reach their full potential.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help you.
Learn more about Rethink food here.
Kamile Banyte joined Oakwood Solicitors in November 2021 as a Digital Marketing Executive. She attended Leeds Trinity University where she was awarded first class BA in Broadcast Journalism.
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