our team in the south and West London

We have the most incredible team of staff, from Senior Leadership who will muck in and mop floors to kitchen support who come up with incredible recipe ideas. 

Our team work tirelessly to make sure that everyone can eat well.

Yvonne Thomson, Founder, UKHarvest

Yvonne Thomson is a highly experienced social, economic and physical regeneration specialist, qualified in community education and gaining a post graduate in Housing studies form Stirling University and Master of Philosophy in Urban Policy. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of those who are socially excluded and have no voice, opportunity or choice in life. She has worked in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Yvonne believes that only through joint working and alliance that we will solve food poverty in the U.K. She sees an intrinsic link between homelessness and food poverty and seeks to provide a solution. Yvonne sees education as the answer to tackling food waste and UKHarvest will work with consumers and everyone right along the supply chain to tackle food waste. The harvest model of food rescue will help provide the solution as part of a four-pillar approach of rescue; education; engagement and innovation. Yvonne began founding UKHarvest in mid 2016.

Lauren Stoner, Interim COO

Jessica Knight, Head of Finance

Jessica has worked at UKHarvest for the last 3 years as our Head of Finance. With a strong background in accountancy, Jess is fantastically placed to make sure that all of our accounting and finance are in order, across our West Sussex HQ and the Nourish Hub in West London. 

Ffion White, Head of Development and Partnerships

Ffion has always had an interest in food, science, and health, grown from hours spent in the kitchen with her family. Ffion went onto obtain a Nutritional Sciences degree and is now a Registered Associate Nutritionist. She has worked in Public Health for over nine years and is passionate about educating people on nutrition and cookery skills. Through our education projects Ffion loves to help people improve their wellbeing through their dietary habits whilst also being mindful of sustainability and food waste.

Andreea Rizea, head of operations (london)

Andreea has worked in Health and Social care for over 17 years in a variety of roles and as a native Romanian speaker, she holds many unique and beneficial skills. Confident in managing contracts and ensuring seamless service provisions, she has a keen eye for detail. Andreea joined the team in November 2021 as our Volunteer Coordinator, and loves working in a team that is so dedicated to nourishing and educating the nation. As well as creating exciting volunteering opportunities, she is also a present member in the community assisting in various education projects. Andreea loves spending time with her family, baking, travelling, and reading.

Joanna Lodge, Communications and Fundraising Manager

With a background in publishing, Jo has taken her editorial and marketing skills to create a successful career in public relations and communications for not-for-profit organisations. Jo oversees all comms for UKHarvest, covering social media, website, email, newsletter and press content.
When she's not creating content and connecting with the press, Jo can be found working closely with many of our key funders and supporters. You'll see her out and about at events, connecting with our local and national partners and coming up with brilliant ways for new partners to support UKHarvest.
For all press and media enquiries, contact Jo via email joanna.lodge@ukharvest.org.uk.

Helen Conway, Finance and Business Manager

Helen has most recently worked in Schools in Finance and previously in the classroom, she also has varied experience running her own business and last worked in food as a Buyer. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, travelling, various crafts and spending time with family and friends. She was first drawn to UKHarvest during the pandemic and how much they helped the local schools and wider community.

simon brent, Education Manager (South)

Simon began his career working in the youth sector as a play and youth worker, where he supported children and young people from marginalized and disadvantaged backgrounds—including those affected by poverty, learning difficulties, and complex family situations. With over 20 years of experience in the education sector, he transitioned into the charity sector to leverage his skills as an educator and his deep understanding of social challenges to drive meaningful and lasting impact in the community.

Helen fielding, Education Manager (London)

Helen has worked and volunteered within the food charity and public sector for 5 years – committed to combating food insecurity and improving the public’s food literacy and nutrition education. She has obtained both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Nutritional Science (BSc Hons) and Global Health (MSc Hons) and is a registered associate nutritionist on the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN). Helen loves learning and sharing recipes which is perfect for her role at the Nourish Hub within the Food Education team! Outside of the kitchen, Helen is an amateur ceramicist, and enjoys board games and quizzes!

Liz Rhodes, Community Outreach and Engagement Manager (south)

Liz brings diverse experience from her work in mental health and wellbeing, social work, and education services across both local authority and NGO roles. Liz has a strong person-centred approach to supporting people facing social and emotional challenges at all stages of life.

Passionate about wellbeing and connecting people with the land around us, she understands how food offers natural ways to help build community, resilience and connection. 

Will Wallace, Fundraising and Impact Manager (south)

Will joined our team in 2023 and has since played a key role in strengthening how we understand and measure our social impact. By introducing innovative systems for monitoring and evaluation, he has enabled us to gain clearer insights into the effectiveness of our mission and identify opportunities for further growth.

Will brings a strong academic background, holding a postgraduate degree in Public Policy from the University of Edinburgh, where he developed his ongoing interest in health equity, social justice and community engagement.

Poppy Soetens-Hall, Fundraising and Impact Manager (London)

Poppy has over five years’ experience managing programmes that support social inclusion, behaviour change and community wellbeing, with a focus on empowering marginalised groups. She has volunteered on regenerative farms in Europe, strengthening her interest in how food systems can bring people together and support long-term change. Alongside her work at Nourish Hub, Poppy runs a social enterprise and community bike workshop that makes bike maintenance more accessible through training and support.

Sophie Cardinal, Volunteer Coordinator (south)

Sophie first became passionate about sustainability and environmental issues during her BSc Psychology studies at the University of Surrey, where she became fascinated by the human-environment relationship and the psychology of pro-environmental behaviour.

After graduating from Bournemouth University with a MSc in Biodiversity Conservation, Sophie developed her administrative and environmental policy skills during her first role at a local authority in the minerals and waste department. 

Through experience and education, Sophie bring a wealth of passion and orchestration to UKHarvest.

Ruby Hughes, Volunteer Coordinator (London)

Ruby’s passion for food and sustainability came from a childhood spent in the garden and kitchen with her parents and Grandad. She moved to London for university in 2016 and has spent her time studying, working and volunteering with grassroots organisations supporting vulnerable communities. Following her master’s degree, she spent time in Canada working on organic farms in order to support her knowledge with some hands-on experience. When she’s not at Nourish Hub, Ruby can be found studying horticulture, reading and cycling around East London.

Kelly Price, Food Partnership Coordinator

A native Texan, Kelly has spent her career working at the intersection of human and planetary health – first by consulting for the healthcare industry, then working for climate startups that focused on reducing food waste / making agriculture more sustainable.   She is delighted to be uniting these passions in the Food Partnership Coordinator role, working to both reduce food waste and increase social and health benefits to the local community.  In her free time, Kelly loves hiking in nature, singing, reading, watching silly murder mysteries and hanging out with her naughty tortie, Badger the Cat.

Logistics

Our logistics staff are integral to our operation. This group of hard-working indivduals work in our warehouse and on the roads, driving our vans to ensure the UK's surplus food is delivered to those who need it most.

The Nourish Hub

Opened in Autumn 2021 and located in London, the Nourish Hub is a space for the whole community to come together, eat well, and learn essential skills for life. Lunch is served daily by a team of decidated chefs and served to those who dine-in and to their meals-on-wheels audience. The entire hub is run by devoted staff members and volunteers. 

Find Out More!