Co-founder of Rethink Food, a social entrepreneur committed to tackling food insecurity and improving children’s health and wellbeing…Nathan Atkinson is transforming how schools and communities approach food education, helping to create a generation of healthy, food-literate, and environmentally conscious young people.
Winners for 2026 have been selected for their achievements and potential creating positive social impact for individuals and communities in different parts of the UK through fashion, accessibility, training and entrepreneurship.
The Prize is awarded by Trinity Hall and the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cambridge, supported by a generous donation from Trinity Hall alumnus Graham Ross Russell.
These awards are made annually to extraordinary founder-CEOs of scale-up social enterprises to support their growth as leaders. Uniquely, the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize recognises mid-career social innovators with a proven track record, but who could benefit from support to reach the next level. The prize includes a £10,000 cash award for personal and professional development. Additionally, mentoring from experts from Cambridge Social Ventures at Cambridge Judge Business School and support from an expanding community of social innovators at Trinity Hall will help them to develop the skills, resources, and networks they need to create more impact from their work.
Nathan describes his work at Rethink Food:
“A former primary school headteacher, Nathan founded Rethink Food after witnessing first-hand the impact hunger has on children’s ability to learn and thrive. Today, the award-winning social enterprise works with more than 650 schools, helping children and families access healthy food with dignity, build food and sustainability literacy, and address the root causes of food insecurity through policy and systems change.
In 2025, Rethink Food launched the National School Pantry Network, a pioneering initiative supporting schools to provide consistent, community-led food support for families. The Network has rapidly gained national recognition and was referenced in the UK Government’s Child Poverty Strategy as an example of effective community-led innovation.
Rethink Food’s impact includes redistributing more than 500 tonnes of food annually, creating over 900,000 meals while reducing food waste and improving health outcomes for children and families.
Nathan applied for the Cambridge Innovation Social Prize to help accelerate the growth of the National School Pantry Network and strengthen his ability to influence long-term systems change.
“Winning this prize is a huge honour,” said Nathan. “It’s recognition not only of our work at Rethink Food, but of the schools, communities, partners and families who are helping build a future where no child’s potential is limited by hunger.”
Nicole Helwig, Executive Director for the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation says of this year’s winners:
“The 2026 winners of the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize demonstrate the transformative power of purpose and social innovation to address some of society’s most pressing challenges. From empowering the next generation with the knowledge and skills to lead healthier, more sustainable lives, to harnessing the power of horses to transform lives, creating supportive employment through sustainable businesses, and providing specialist support for survivors of sexual violence, Nathan Atkinson, Danielle McKinnon, Matt Parfitt and Lucy Hebbert are driving meaningful, lasting change. We’re proud to recognise their achievements and support their continued journeys as they grow their impact”.
About the prize
The Cambridge Social Innovation Prize is the cornerstone of an ongoing collaboration between Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School and Trinity Hall, one of the oldest colleges at the University. Supported by a generous donation from University of Cambridge (Trinity Hall) alumnus Graham Ross Russell.
Together, the School and the College are working to foster an interest in social innovation and entrepreneurship among students, fellows and alumni, encouraging them to create new businesses and to pursue careers rooted in social and environmental impact.
For more information
Find out more about the prize: www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/social-innovation/cambridge-social-innovation-prize/
Find out more about the Trinity Hall Entrepreneurship Network: www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/alumni/alumni-associations/then/
