By Bradley Grant

Copyright thejc

A group of JFS students intent on combating food inequalities have won a prestigious social enterprise competition. The Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSE) annual LAUNCH competition, which aims to “build the next generation of young entrepreneurs”, saw Year 12 pupils Sophie, Eden, Gabriella and Hannah praised by the judges for creating Undercover Veggies. Their brand was established to address three main challenges: childhood malnutrition, health education and food waste. The youth-led social enterprise creates fortified, nutrient-rich sauces made from surplus vegetables, blended with essential vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin D, Iron, B12 and calcium. “The idea of creating our own enterprise enticed us” said the students, who jumped at the opportunity to demonstrate their entrepreneurial skills in a project focused on tackling social inequality in the London borough of Barnet. “We immediately got to brainstorming,” they said. “We landed on the topic of food inequality in Barnet, our local community, and were shocked to learn about the high levels of disparity and deprivation. That’s how Undercover Veggies was born – a social enterprise designed to tackle nutritional deficiencies.” Their company’s ethos is to help children eat more healthily, reduce food insecurity, provide affordable meals and promote sustainability. In order to win, the students had to present a Dragons’ Den-style pitch, along with a business plan and a social media campaign, in front of judges Camden councillor Rebecca Filer, Natalie Deller, EDI funding manager at The National Lottery Community Fund, and Dr Yotam Levy, who leads investor relations at the Entrepreneurship Institute. YSE finalists 2025 (Photo: YSE)[Missing Credit] The team secured the £3,000 seed funding prize after what judges described as “a very close competition”. YSE co-founder Dan Amroussi said afterwards: “The judges were very impressed with the level of research and creativity behind the idea. The team handled the judges challenging questions extremely well”. YSE was set up in 2020, following creators Dan Amroussi and Asher Levy’s participation in the Chief Rabbi’s Ben Azzai programme, which, in partnership with World Jewish Relief, encourages social responsibility in the sphere of international development. YSE is designed to give students in years 10 to 13 the skills and confidence to address pressing social issues through entrepreneurship. Today, it runs three flagship programmes: LEARN – global development workshops in schools, LAUNCH – the nationwide social enterprise competition, and LEAD – the alumni programme, which includes visits to the United Nations in Geneva and sessions with social entrepreneurs across London. Reflecting on this year’s YSE cohort, Amroussi and Levy said: “Every group impressed us with their creativity and commitment to tackling inequality. It was inspiring to see how much thought and passion the students brought to their projects, and we’re excited to continue working with them, as well as welcoming the new cohort of students joining YSE LAUNCH this year.” Sign-ups for YSE LAUNCH 2026 are now open. All students in Years 10–13 can register their groups via shorturl.at/hfuKv