The Caroline Walker Trust (CWT) is delighted to announce the shortlist for CWT Awards 2019 Nutritionist of the Year and Freelance Nutritionist of the Year.  The awards celebrate the best of those who work in evidence-based nutrition.

The awards ceremony, sponsored by the Nutrition Society, SENSE and supported by the Association for Nutrition, will be held on 12 November 2019 at the RSM Chandos House.  Professor Tim Lang, President of the CWT, will be presenting the award to the winner of each category.

Traditionally the Caroline Walker Trust has offered several awards, however, for the first time in 30 years, the Trust has included two new categories for their annual awards.  These are the Nutritionist of the Year and Freelance Nutritionist of the Year.  They have been introduced to mark the 30^th anniversary of the trust, and in doing so, these categories reflect Caroline Walker’s work which included public health, researcher, academic, community worker, writer, speaker, media advisor and freelance.

“The Caroline Walker Trust Awards are intended to highlight distinctive and outstanding work in promoting public health by maintaining and advancing standards of food and nutrition.  Traditionally the Caroline Walker Trust only offered four awards; however, over the years, these have changed to reflect the dynamic environment in which the Trust operates.” Anka Johnston, Chair of CWT.  This year, the trust has offered six awards, which also includes a Lifetime Achievement award, Food Hero of the Year, Media Campaigner of the Year and Charity Food Campaigner of the Year.

The official shortlist of the CWT 30^th Anniversary Awards showcases the high calibre of nutritionists working in a variety of areas.  The shortlisted nominees for Nutritionist of the Year comprise Barbara Bray MBE from the agriculture and farming sector, Dr Kawther Hashem from Action on Sugar, Dr Glenys Jones from the Association for Nutrition, Greg Lessons from the London Fire Brigade and Professor Louis Levy from Public Health England.

The trust also wanted to reflect how Registered Nutritionists work freelance, just like Caroline Walker had done.  The shortlisted nominees for the Freelance Nutritionist of the Year comprise Claire Baseley, Barbara Bray, Shaleen Meelu, Charlotte Stirling-Reed and Dr Laura Wyness.

 “The aim is to highlight the great work of Freelance Nutritionists, to support those who are continuing to make a difference while inspiring a new generation of nutritionists to do likewise,”  said Anka Johnston, Chair of CWT.

“The Nutrition Society is delighted to be sponsoring this year’s CWT Awards, an excellent initiative to recognise and reward the contribution of nutritionists.” commented the Nutrition Society.

Dr Margaret Ashwell OBE, SENSE’s Chair commented: “SENSE is delighted to be a part of the CWT celebrations, recognising that these awards are particularly valuable to SENSE self-employed nutritionists, who work across a broad range of disciplines- anywhere that nutrition has an important role to play. As such, this provides an opportunity to justifiably reward their achievements.”

CWT would like to congratulate all the shortlisted nominees and everyone who submitted nominations.  CWT would also like to thank the Judges for their hard work in drawing up the shortlist from an impressive list of submissions, and the Nutrition Society, Association for Nutrition and SENSE for their sponsorship of the Awards.

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Notes to the Editor

1. For information on the background to the awards and how the result was arrived see: https://www.cwt.org.uk/cwt-announce-awards-short-list/

2. The Caroline Walker Trust was founded in 1989 after the death of the distinguished nutritionist, writer and campaigner Caroline Walker. Established to continue her work and in her spirit, the CWT works tirelessly to promote the improvement of public health through good food. The work of CWT is particularly targeted towards vulnerable groups and people who need special help.

3. This year is the 30^th anniversary of the Trust and the theme for the evening is Affordable food: Affordable health. The speakers included Felicity Lawrence, Guardian Journalist; Peter Stefanovic, Social Injustice Campaigner and distinguished Lawyer; and Dan Crossley, Executive Director at the Food Ethics Council.

4. The Caroline Walker Trust Logo:

 

6. The Nutritionist of the Year award has been sponsored by the Nutrition Society nutritionsociety.org and the Association for Nutrition www.associationfornutrition.org
7. The Freelance Nutritionist of the Year award has been sponsored by SENSE and the Nutrition Society nutritionsociety.org

7. The Association for Nutrition (AfN) holds the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN), a register of competent, qualified nutrition professionals who meet our rigorously applied standards for scientifically sound evidence-based nutrition and its use in practice.  The UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists is the only register of qualified nutritionists recognised by Public Health England, NHS Choicesand NHS Careers 

8. The Nutrition Society of the UK and Ireland was established in 1941 and is one of the largest learned societies for nutrition in the world. With over 2,600 members internationally, the Society is dedicated to delivering its mission of advancing the scientific study of nutrition and its application to animal and human health. The Society disseminates and promotes nutrition science through its six journals and six textbooks, in addition to regularly organising CPD endorsed conferences and webinars. Working with universities, parliamentarians, industry representatives, academic researchers, and other membership organisations, the Society aims to create opportunities for building relationships that strengthen research and collaboration within the field. Membership is open to any individual with an interest in nutritional science.

9. SENSE is the original unique network for professional self-employed Registered Nutritionists and Registered Dietitians. It exists to provide members with professional development, support and advice. Founded in 1996 by Dr Margaret Ashwell as  ‘Self Employed Nutritionists’  Support and Enlightenment’. SENSE now has more than 70 members and a flourishing CPD programme of twice-yearly meetings. http://www.sense-nutrition.org.uk   

10. Professor Louis Levy, Head of Nutrition Science at Public Health England, said: “I am delighted to be nominated and to see recognition for many good candidates demonstrating the hard work found across the field to improve public health and prevent ill-health.”

11. Greg Lessons, London Fire Brigade Nutritionist said: “It is a genuine honour to be shortlisted for the prestigious CWT Nutritionist of the Year award, and I am proud to be able to represent the London Met Public Health Nutrition Research Group, as well as colleagues from London Fire Brigade who work every day to save the lives of others.”

12. Dr Kawther Hashem, Campaign Lead at Action on Sugar based at Queen Mary University of London says, “I am very honoured to have been shortlisted for the Caroline Walker Trust 30^th Anniversary ‘Nutritionist of the Year’ award for my work to get companies to improve their products. Thank you to everyone who helped me achieve so much over the last nine years of my career.”

13. “I‘m truly honoured to have been nominated and shortlisted for an award in the memory of such an inspirational nutritionist like Caroline Walker. It is an absolute privilege to work in such an amazing profession, with so many great opportunities to help improve health and support colleagues reach their goals,” commented Dr Glenys Jones, Communications Manager and Deputy CEO, Association for Nutrition.

14. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be shortlisted for the awards, and I congratulate my fellow nutritionists on their achievements. This year has been fantastic, first publishing my Nuffield Farming report and then receiving an MBE. The recognition by the Trust of the distinguished nutritionist Caroline Walker is an honour.” Barbara Bray MBE FIFST RNutr NSch, Director of Alo Solutions Ltd alo-solutions.com

15. “It is an honour to be shortlisted for the Caroline Walker Trust awards. Choosing a career as a Public Health Nutritionist wasn’t and still isn’t easy. Nutritionists are rarely respected/recognised outside their field. Caroline Walker and the Trust were a great source of inspiration and motivation” Shaleen Meelu Co-founder Harborne Food School & Healthy Futures Public Health Nutrition Specialist working with Birmingham City Council and the Food Foundation.  harbornefoodschool.co.uk  www.healthy-futures.net

16. “I am passionate about promoting evidence-based public health nutrition and enjoy the variety of ways of communicating nutrition research.  I am therefore extremely proud to be shortlisted for the Caroline Walker Trust Freelance Nutritionist of the Year Award”.  Dr Laura Wyness works as a Freelance Registered Nutritionist based in Edinburgh https://www.laurawyness.com/

17. “I’m so very pleased to have been nominated for the CWT award for Freelance Nutritionist of the Year. I’ve loved the work that CWT has done for years – ever since I was at University, they’ve always been such a useful resource for Nutritionists. I’m very excited to attend the awards in November – so many fantastic nutritionists have been nominated this year”. Charlotte Stirling-Reed https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/

18. “I’m delighted to have been shortlisted for the prestigious Caroline Walker Trust Awards. As a passionate Registered Nutritionist I work hard to educate the public and food industry in an engaging yet evidence-based manner via my freelance work and across my social media platforms, website and through the media,” commented Claire Baseley, Director at CLB Nutrition Website: clairebaseley.co.uk