Two linked areas of concern were raised at the Trailblazer Assembly: the difficulties people experiencing food poverty face in enabling their children to eat healthily; and concerns about the fact that food provided by foodbanks may not be healthy.
There are, however, three important ways in which collaborative working can address both food poverty and action on childhood obesity. They are:
- using foodbanks as a way of contacting families to offer a range of support
- the contribution of initiatives such as food boxes and food clubs
- the benefits of the networks that are established as a result of initiatives such as the Childhood Obesity Trailblazers.
Communication
In many places steps are being taken to give people who use foodbanks access to wider support. This includes, for example, signposting to other support, access to healthy start vouchers and information about food clubs and food box schemes (see below).
Healthy food initiatives
Many areas are pursuing initiatives which address both healthy eating and food poverty, including food boxes and food clubs. In one area people using food banks are signposted to a local group which provides food boxes for a nominal price. These often include recipes, cooking courses and links to on-line resources. Initiatives such as these make healthy food available at reasonable prices and encourage healthy cooking and eating.
The Nottinghamshire Childhood Obesity
Trailblazer is establishing food clubs in Children’s Centres and is developing food bags.
Other examples include:
The promotion of food boxes and food clubs in Herefordshire and Southampton
The Company Shop Group, a social enterprise which gives its members access to discounted food and personal development programmes
Networks
The links that have been created between organisations, teams and individuals in order to deliver programmes such as the Trailblazers can be important in integrating action on food poverty and obesity. This has proved to be the case in Nottinghamshire, for example, where the relationships that have been developed helped deliver the Winter Covid Grants and food packages.