Lizzie Vann Foundation
Lizzie Vann
Lizzie Vann MBE is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and activist who has been involved in supporting better food for children for over 30 years.
Born in Leicester, UK, in 1958, and with a keen interest in the environment, food and farming, Lizzie studied biology and chemistry at Lancaster University in the Lake District. In 1979 she began a life of activism in environmental issues and social justice. First stop – helping to found a wholefood co-operative, nutrition information centre and urban commune in Leeds, Yorkshire.
Working within the world of food politics covering, amongst other campaigns, the need for better health, safety and working pay and conditions for part-time women workers as well the need for better food industry regulation, in the 1970’s and 1980’s progress was painfully slow. The power of women to influence political and social campaigning was limited. Stepping aside from what seemed to be an unwinnable battle to gain a voice and influence on the left, Lizzie turned to the world of finance and commerce to endeavour to understand the way the world worked from a different perspective. Believing that business could act as a force for good, Lizzie set out to gain experience in the different aspects of running a commercial business.
After ten years of campaigning to improve the regulations surrounding the food that children eat, and concerned about the lack of good food choices for infants and young children, Lizzie set up Organix Brands in 1992 with the aim of offering families a healthier alternative to mass-produced children’s food.Â
During her time at Organix, a company that was always transparent about its organic supply chains and ingredients, Lizzie worked with the Soil Association and the Food Commission to outline the state of children’s food in the early 21st century, looking at which issues most concerned families, and what could be done to improve the food available to their children.
2002
Campaigning for better regulation of pesticide residues in children’s food
First published in 2002 the regular ‘Carrots or Chemistry Sets’ report highlighted the lack of understanding many families have over nutrition and food labelling and concerns over additives in food, particularly colourings, flavourings and preservatives. The aim of the report was to inform both parents and regulators, and to call for a ban on the most pernicious of them. The report also called for better regulation of the baby food industry.
Separately, Lizzie and the Organix company campaigned for better regulation of pesticide residues in children’s food, working closely with both NGO and organic trade associations to promote the importance of food grown sustainably without the use of pesticides contributing to better food safety, animal welfare and the production of climate-friendly food.
2005
Alongside her championing of organic food and organic food production, Lizzie was also one of three founding members of the Soil Association‘s Food For Life programme with school cook Jeanette Orrey and Simon Brenman, supply chain expert. The Food for Life programme called for the reinstallation of nutrition standards for what was often the most important meal of the day for disadvantaged school children. It also called for the use of local and organic ingredients, the reskilling of school kitchen cooks and reinvestment in school kitchen equipments.  As the campaign developed, it worked with partners The Health Education Trust, Focus on Food and Garden Organic to completely revolutionise school food in the UK, a project amplified by Jamie Oliver’s work highlighting the need for root and branch reform of school food. Better school food regulation in 2005 was directly related to the work of Food of Life and other campaigns and Food for Life remains a vibrant programme supporting almost 800 schools and nurseries across the UK.
2006
The Real Meal Deal
In 2006 Lizzie worked with the Soil Association to produce a report on food in family restaurants and attractions ‘The Real Meal Deal’ which became the precursor to the ‘Out to Lunch Campaign’ which continues to rank restaurants and attractions on their food offer to children.
2007-2009
Not what the doctor ordered
From 2007 to 2009 Lizzie was the chairman of the Soil Association’s Organic Trade Group and in 2007 worked with the Soil Association to produce a report ‘Not what the doctor ordered’ looking at junk food marketed in hospitals and sports centres, highlighting the contradiction of health-providing and -promoting organisations selling foods and drinks that are high in cosmetic additives, fat ,sugar and salt and of low nutritional quality.
2007
The Food for the Brain Foundation
Also published in 2007 was a collaborative report with The Food for the Brain Foundation, highlighting results from a survey of over 10,000 children comparing food intake with health and academic performance.
2008
The Organix Foundation funding charity was set up in 2009
Lizzie sold the Organix company to the Hero group in 2008 and invested  proceeds in projects to promote child health and food quality in the UK, as well as renewable energy projects in the US. The Organix Foundation funding charity was set up in 2009 to offer grants to those working to improve the quality and safety of food for children, particularly those areas that are ‘harder to fund’. Helen Crawley, Diana Hawdon, Ella Heeks and Anna Rosier acted as trustees, guiding a diverse range of projects including:
- Providing information on healthy sustainable diets for young children.
- Supporting reports on pesticides in children’s health
- Funding a review of food flavouring regulation
- Analysing the fluoride content of infant milks and foods
- Supporting the ‘Action on Additives’ campaign at the Food Commission,
- Funding work on xenoestrogenic pesticides and breast cancer bioimaging
- Promoting the development of food photographic resources for health care professionals and families
Additionally, Student grants were made available to allow undergraduates to gain valuable paid experience.  OF also funded PhD work related to the Healthy Start scheme which led to the formation of The Healthy Start Alliance.
The funding charity ran for five years, kick starting work in a number of areas, but it was apparent from their work that there was a need for a charity that focused on good nutrition from pre-conception to five years. Lizzie funded the setting up of the charity First Steps Nutrition Trust in 2011 and continues to fund their work providing evidence-based information to health professionals and families.
2025
The Lizzie Vann Foundation
In 2019 after a successful period in Florida setting up the sustainable, net-zero-energy Historic Green Village in Anna Maria, Lizzie moved to Upstate New York and bought the Bearsville Theater complex, the former Cafe Espresso (site of Bob Dylan’s ‘White Room’ from the early 1960’s) and historic library and other buildings in Woodstock, New York to use for a community garden, affordable housing, a small scale business incubator, and community health facilities. The Lizzie Vann Foundation in the UK was set up in early 2025 with funds from Lizzie’s personal investments. Always keen to return to her original campaigning roots, this new charity focuses upon highlighting issues around additives and contaminants in food and drink given to children, with a clear remit to ensure clear and independent information is available to families.
Lizzie has won a number of awards including European Woman of Achievement, the Caroline Walker Trust Award for campaigning work in the food industry, the Organic Trophy from the Soil Association in 2002 2003 and 2004, and an MBE from Queen Elizabeth for Services to Children’s Health. More recently she was named Entrepreneur of the Year in Ulster County, Upstate New York.
