A message from our Chief Executive.

Hi, I’m Lucy Vincent, the Chief Executive of Food Behind Bars. The subject of prison food landed in my life through pure chance back in 2016. I was working freelance as a journalist and I wrote an article about what women eat in prison that was inspired by the official HM Inspectorate report, Life in Prison: Food. After the feature was published, I couldn’t quite let go of the subject. Food Behind Bars was born.

Since then, I’ve made it my mission to immerse myself in the world of prison food. I’ve travelled the globe, visiting prison kitchens from Scrubs to rural Sweden, spending time with the prisoners, the staff, and working in the kitchens. I continue to campaign around the subject, speaking at conferences internationally and uncovering real life stories about what diet means behind bars.

I understand the logistical and financial restrictions that catering managers face and my team work creatively within those boundaries to demonstrate that good food is possible in prison. I’m a true believer that food has the power to change lives and positively impact society. I also believe that everyone deserves the tools and understanding to eat healthily - regardless of their background or circumstance. Better food in prison will lead to a better functioning prison system, in turn leading to a better functioning society. This remains my ultimate goal.

Meet our Trustees

  • Kate Eves OBE

    Kate is FBB’s chair. She is a criminologist who has spent her career working in prisons in the UK and the United States. She specialises in the prevention of harm in custodial environments and has worked for HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, the Prisons & Probation Ombudsman and HM Prison Service, where she led on the national strategy for preventing violence. She has investigated deaths and serious incidents in UK prisons and in New York City jails. Kate was Chair of the statutory Brook House Inquiry, an investigation into the mistreatment of immigration detainees which reported in September 2023.

  • Missy Flynn

    Missy is a London-based food and drink entrepreneur, consultant and academic. She is the co-owner of food and drink collective Rita’s and has run restaurants and worked in the hospitality industry in London since she was a teen. Missy is currently undertaking an MA in the Anthropology of Food at SOAS, University of London. She has a particular interest in the social, cultural and historical significance of food and its wider meaning.

  • Josie Bevan

    Josie is an award-winning writer, blogger and presenter. She had a successful career in film and script-writing before retraining as a nutritionist and naturopath. In 2016, her husband was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Since then, Josie has dedicated her life to campaigning for prison reform. Her critically-acclaimed blog and podcast, Prison Bag, details her journey as a ‘prison wife’ and highlights the injustices of the prison system, from the perspective of a loved one.

  • Leon Aarts

    Leon is a chef, humanitarian and the founder of three charities, each centred around his mission of no-one going hungry. In 2015, after witnessing the growing refugee crisis, Leon found himself in France and soon founded the charity Calais Kitchens, which made sure 10,000 refugees were served a hot and nourishing meal. During the pandemic, he continued his mission by founding the charity With Compassion which fed up to 4000 hungry Londoners per day. He helped lead The Felix Project through a pivotal period that led to 2.5 million meals cooked and distributed to those in need between 2020-2023.

  • Sophie Tebbetts

    Sophie is Chief Executive Officer at FoodCycle, where she leads the charity’s national strategy to tackle food poverty, social isolation, and food waste. With over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector she brings both strategic insight and hands-on expertise. A lifelong foodie, Sophie previously ran a successful catering business and worked in commercial kitchens. Since becoming CEO in 2024, she has led FoodCycle to win Charity of the Year, expanding its reach and impact. Outside of work, Sophie enjoys experimenting in the kitchen with her children - continuing her lifelong passion for food and nourishment.

“If I can give them even just two hours where they don’t feel like they are in prison, then I’ve done my job”

Natalia Middleton is our Head of Food Education and works across all of our prison partners. Natalia is a professional chef with cookery qualifications from both City & Guilds and Leiths School of Food and Wine. She has extensive experience in teaching cooking after working as a tutor at Leiths and School of Wok. She also has a BA in Criminology. Nat oversees all of our recipe development and delivers many of our food education programmes.

Natalia Middleton

  • Helena Busiakiewicz

    Helena is our Food Educator based at HMP Downview. She is a professional chef, home economist and food stylist. She currently heads up the BBC Good Food test kitchen where she oversees all the recipe testing for the website and magazine. Alongside this, she delivers our cooking course to groups of female prisoners. She specialises in fresh, wholesome and seasonal food that’s good for the mind, body and soul.

  • Isaac Cameron

    Isaac is our Baker Trainer, delivering bakery education to prisons around the country. A professional baker and pastry chef, Isaac has helped establish two in-house bakeries at HMP Wealstun and HMP Bristol. He’s led a programme of baking education in prison kitchens and developed recipes for prison menus, including homemade bread, bakes and puddings. He is able to use his expertise to develop food production initiatives in prisons that deliver skills, as well as nutritious food.

  • Lawrence Weston

    Lawrence is our Kitchen Gardener. He is an RHS-qualified gardener and is currently delivering food growing education at HMP Stoke Heath, as part of FBB’s NHS-commissioned food programme. He led the grounds team at HMP Swinfen Hall, where we helped cultivate a large kitchen garden. Lawrence previously ran kitchen garden education at a school for children with complex needs and has a passion for garden design and utilising unused prison land.