Nesta residents are experts or leaders in their field who support knowledge transfer for a specific Nesta team and the wider organisation. The purpose of this programme is to bring in new ideas, challenge our assumptions, help us deepen our practice and expose staff to new networks and skills. 

Nesta is hosting food experts from Bremner & Co as part of our residency programme in Wales. The residents will support Nesta to work out how best to give children access to healthy and appetising school food and support school leaders in driving a great school food culture.

Food eaten during the school day makes up a significant part of primary school children's diets and helps shape their relationship with food for life. This means that ensuring food eaten throughout the school day is as healthy as possible will play an important role in helping Nesta to reach its target of halving obesity prevalence across the UK.

We’re thrilled to introduce you to the team at Bremner & Co.

Myles has spent over 20 years working to transform the way we think about the food system. He is the former director of the English government’s School Food Plan and was CEO of Garden Organic, a leading horticultural charity. He has been a member of the London Food Board and has held trustee positions at Sustain and at the Royal Academy of Culinary Art’s Adopt a School programme. Myles has chaired several government food-related task forces including the London Mayor’s Olympic Legacy community garden project.  

Dayna is a senior food policy consultant. Dayna brings a wealth of experience from local government, having led the strategic communications planning for the Mayor of London for eight years. She worked across policy areas from food, environment, climate change, social cohesion and regeneration. Dayna was the communications, marketing and digital lead for the Mayor’s host city Olympics programme and Greater London Authority elections. Before joining Bremner & Co, Dayna worked as a strategy consultant for not for profits in the food sector. 

Cressida is a research and project officer. She is passionate about contributing to equitable and sustainable food systems and is dedicated to making a positive impact through her work. Cressida worked as a lead adviser at Natural England, where she spearheaded the development of an assisted digital service and helpline for users of biodiversity net gain. She has a particular interest in food poverty, inspired by her internship with Cambridge Sustainable Food. Cressida has recently completed a master’s degree in food policy and brings relevant knowledge and understanding of food systems thinking.

Bremner & Co is a consultancy working to make the food system fairer. Founded in 2015, they focus on improving food policy and practice so everyone has the right to good, nutritious, healthy food. They started their journey running the office of the School Food Plan for the Department for Education. Since then, they have worked with a range of stakeholders, both across the UK and internationally, including local governments, not-for-profit and charitable organisations, academics and schools, all with the aim of making our food system fairer and better.