Ayanna completed her thesis in Zambia and was selected to present her research at the World Public Health Nutrition (WPHN) Congress. She then secured a role as Project Officer at a charity called School Food Matters, which exists to improve children’s access to healthy, sustainable food during their time at school.
During COVID-19 she used her role to implement, coordinate and manage the day-to-day logistics of the Healthy Breakfast Boxes Project, responding to food insecurity amongst families with children. With a £1m budget she delivered more than one million breakfasts to children severely impacted by the pandemic, exposing the scale of food insecurity and the knock-on impact on children’s health. The project was recognised at the Stevie Awards and Third Sector Awards, and in September 2021 the programme received the APPG Excellence in School Food Award.
