FSA Wales recognises community food projects

Wednesday 21 June 2006

Ref: WA29/O6CK

Food Standards Agency Wales has announced the winners and runners-up in its 2006 Awards for Food Action Locally (AFAL). The Awards, launched in November 2003, recognise individual or team contributions to nutrition initiatives that have made a positive impact on the diet or eating habits in their local communities.

Among the winners is the Blaeneau Gwent project 'Young@Heart'. This project aims to address the rising levels of overweight and obesity in children and young people in the Blaenau Gwent area through a family-based healthy lifestyle programme. Participants are asked to take part, up to twice a week for 10 weeks in a programme encouraging healthy eating and behaviour change through fun, confidence-boosting activities and exercise sessions.

Another winner is the Age Concern Neath Port Talbot project 'You are what you eat'. This project was developed by Age Concern following extensive relationship building with the Bangladeshi community in Neath Port Talbot, and aims to provide nutritional information and practical ideas to help people develop healthier versions of traditional recipes. A set of adapted recipes has been created with input from local Bangladeshi women, together with an audio-visual resource covering relevant diet-related health messages and advice.

The multi agency project, Caerphilly Borough Nutrition Group, which aims to implement the Welsh 'Food and Wellbeing' strategy, is another winner. This action plan seeks to strengthen partnership working to improve the diet of local residents through joint working and sharing information and resources, and sets out priorities for better targeted action. A multitude of activities is already underway, ranging from Get Cooking sessions with youth clubs to an award scheme to encourage caterers in the county to adopt healthier catering practices.

A Cardiff project, the 4Winds Evening Meal Group, is another winner. This project, based in a community that has a significant black and minority ethnic population, aims to meet the needs of individuals who are in receipt of welfare benefits or who have very low or no income. It provides healthy cooking ingredients to anyone who wishes to assist in the preparation of a nutritious evening meal (the meal is then provided for only
1.50 per person. The group offers faith-sensitive meals, vegetarian meals and provides opportunities for cross-cultural learning about different food as a way of breaking down prejudice.

The final winner is the Ely and Caerau project 'FoodMatters/Bwyd o Bwys'. Seventeen year-9 students (13-14 years of age) in Michaelston Community College in Ely agreed to undertake food and nutrition training to enable them to deliver food and health workshops to 60 of their peers as part of an organised school event. The students delivered two activities – one focusing on The Balance of Good Health, and the other using a food quiz called the 'Snackathon'. The programme generated an interest in food and nutrition in the trainers and their fellow students develop an understanding of healthy eating.

Each of these winning projects was awarded £2000 and a celebratory fruit bowl.

A further five projects were awarded runner-up status in the Award. These projects were presented with £1,000 and a celebratory fruit bowl.

One runner-up was the Groundwork Wrexham & Flintshire's 'Walking the way to Health' project: 'Walkabout Wrexham'. This project targeted residents of the borough aged over 55 and from areas of the community in which poor health might be common. It is hoped that improved diet and increased physical activity will lead to a reduction in the incidence of coronary heart disease. Those that participate in the regular walks are awarded a £3 fruit and vegetable voucher each time they complete five walks.

Another runner-up is the Powys-based CAFÉ (Children, Agriculture, Food and Education) Project. This project was developed when local people ' teachers, farmers and health professionals ' became concerned about children's poor 'food awareness'. After forming themselves into the Mid Wales Food and Land Trust they won funding from the Countryside Council for Wales and support 'in kind' from Powys County Council to launch the pilot CAFÉ Project in January 2005. Activities have included school visits to farms and farmers markets, purchasing and distribution of resources for schools, establishment of a web-based networking facility and themed food days. The project has aimed to 'reconnect' food and farming locally to the national curriculum, focusing initially on the early years and primary age group now called the 'Foundation Phase'.

The Cwm Penmachno Food Co-op is another runner-up. This co-op serves a small rural community with no shops and for whom a round trip to the nearest supermarket can be a 60-80 mile round trip. The co-op provides fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products, fresh fish and bread, and emphasises local and seasonal produce. The co-op distribution point provides a valuable meeting place for exchange of information on recipes, and the co-op leader uses the produce in catering for community centre functions.

A second Blaenau Gwent runner up is the 'Community Development Food Project', which works in various communities. This project is in one of the most deprived areas of Wales and aims to encourage healthy eating by training people from these communities to empower their peers to improve their diet and hence reduce the risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease. These community food workers have received basic food hygiene and comprehensive food and nutrition training and this has equipped them to deliver various cooking and healthy eating sessions to targeted groups in a culturally meaningful way.

The final runner-up is the Mumbles 'Red Café' project. This Café aims to furnish young people with the skills required for independent living, including healthy lifestyle, nutrition and food preparation skills. Red Café introduces young people to food they may not have previously tried, educates them in the choices they can make for their own benefit, and enables them to learn how their choices affect the lives of people in other countries. Young people learn to prepare healthy food in ways that they can replicate at home, through helping older volunteers in the kitchen and by taking part in cooking workshops.

Judging panelist Professor Robert Pickard, who is Director General of the British Nutrition Foundation and a member of the Welsh Food Advisory Committee, said: 'The breadth of nominations received for this year's AFAL Awards has once again highlighted the importance that is being given to improving nutrition within the community.

'For the third year running, all entries were of a high calibre, making the judging a difficult process. Each of these projects has demonstrated how their hard work, initiative, commitment and enthusiasm has helped to promote better diets in their community, and actions like these change lives.'

The Agency is committed to continuing the Award for 2006/07 and further details will be announced in due course.