Speed networking discussions

Educating people about healthy eating

Led by: Andrea Redwood

Questions:

1.	Where is it working well?
2.	What are some of the barriers to putting projects in place?
3.	How can we work together better?

Working well

Tower Hamlets
•	Commission led – the Nutrition Advisory Service

Islington:
•	Workshops
•	Education – leaflets
•	High demand – funded by the PCT
•	Trained community volunteers

•	There is a space for a community garden at a local community centre but is there any funding available? suggestion to try www.capitalgrowth.org - although the first round of funding is now over, another will begin soon so register your land online

Greenwich:
•	Cooking clubs – set up by PCT

Recipe booklet targeting the Asian community – Enfield Racial Equality Trust

Food co-ops – not just access but focus on community education including tool kits (but it is hard to measure this)

Would be nice to grow vegetables for the cooking clubs
•	Andrea – are trying to get participants to grow their own and bring it in

Community gardening
•	Need to show people how to do this even if they don’t have their own garden as many of the people in these areas are below the poverty line
•	Can grow tomatoes in an old pair of tights

Public lectures to start information flow on relevant topics would be useful
•	Hackney is thinking about using these to put out a message on healthy eating
•	But it is important to improve interactive learning as not all people have the same learning styles and many people living in these areas do not use English as a first language

Healthy options food board is a good idea to educate the wider community

Barriers

•	Habits – especially the elderly due to changes in food content over time
•	Language – education needs to be interactive and inclusive e.g., eating together
•	Behaviour change – need to encourage small steps
•	Mixed messages – especially for young people

•	Change 4 life campaign sets a good example of a campaign breaking barriers, with interactive information for children. But the lists of community schemes are not complete with the nearest project to SW1 located in Portsmouth
•	Money for chef training – but most food in courses still comes highly packaged
•	Need to bend the agendas of mainstreams existing projects
•	Funding is often an enormous barrier
•	Time and facilities - £30 hour to use a local community hall 

Working together better

•	Talk and share ideas
•	Better use of the internet
•	Encourage others to get involved in networks and resource schemes, including freelancers and theatres and other underused areas of societ
•	Blogging