Health and wellbeing
Residents encouraged to take action for a thriving food system on World Food Day
Published on
As World Food Day is marked on Wednesday 16 October 2024, Walsall residents are encouraged to take action in their communities to create a more sustainable, fair and prosperous food environment. This year’s theme is ‘right to foods for a better life and a better future’.
To ensure everyone in Walsall has access to good quality food, the council has been working with Soil Association to deliver the Food for Life programme across Walsall, which enables children, parents and the wider community to benefit from healthy and sustainable meals. Over 19,000 children have benefited from Food for Life since 2017 and 33 schools now hold a Food for Life Award. In addition, 22 nurseries have achieved an Early Years Award.
Since April 2023, Food for Life has taken a whole community approach which has seen 34 local providers registered to deliver activity as part of Food for Life’s campaigns ‘Plant and Share’ and ‘Cook and Share’. In addition, 42 organisations and stakeholders have engaged beyond the school gate through Food for Life’s Sugar Smart campaign, the Walsall Food Summit and supporting local deliverers with shared goals.
In November, Food for Life Walsall will hold two community training events at Bentley Leisure Pavilion for those who would like to lead cooking and growing activities in the community. Residents are encouraged to sign up for one of two dates: Wednesday 6 November (4pm to 7pm) or Thursday 7 November (9:30am-12:30pm) and book by emailing jhadley@soilassociation.org.
“ World Food Day is an ideal opportunity to raise awareness about the need for a sustainable, fair and prosperous food environment in Walsall. We’ve been working closely with the Food for Life programme for over the last 7 years, where thousands of children and their families have benefited from healthy eating and access to sustainable food. We’ve also been engaging with local organisations as part of our whole community approach to ensure every resident can be part of a better food system in Walsall.
Food for Life’s upcoming community training events will enable more residents to be able to lead cooking and growing sessions where they live, and I encourage you to sign up for one of the sessions on offer in November. “
Alongside this, there are steps that Walsall residents can take to improve their approach to food. This includes:
- Increasing fruit, vegetables, fibre and water each day, introducing meat-free days and using free tools and apps to make healthy changes.
- Taking up the free NHS Healthy Start scheme, which enables pregnant women or those with a child under four to get help to buy healthy food and milk.
- Getting support for breastfeeding and infant feeding through Walsall’s Family Hubs and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust’s Infant Feeding Team.
- Taking up cooking and growing opportunities locally.
- Registering to take part in Food for Life’s ‘Cook and Share’ campaign this November which includes access to a toolkit of free food resources and recipes.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
- Food for Life (led by the Soil Association) has been working with local authorities across the country for over 10 years, supporting schools, nurseries, caterers and communities to embed a good food culture within their settings and beyond. The Walsall programme has been running since 2017 and you can read more about the impact in their latest report.
- Plant and Share & Cook and Share are campaigns part of Soil Association’s Food for Life programmes. The next programme will run in November. Find out more - Plant and Share and Cook and Share | Food for Life.
- The Director of Public Health Walsall’s annual report ‘Feeding our Future’ from 2022/23 sets out a number of recommendations residents, communities and businesses can take to help work towards the ambition of a sustainable, fair and prosperous food environment.
- NHS Healthy Start is a scheme that helps women who are pregnant or have young children and are receiving benefits to get help to buy healthy food and milk. Residents can apply by going to the NHS Healthy Start website.
- Walsall’s Family Hubs and the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust’s Infant Feeding Team run regular breastfeeding peer support groups and introduction to solid food sessions in Walsall. For details of when activities take place visit the Walsall Family Hubs website.
- Families in Walsall can get support from the Infant Feeding Team by visiting the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust website.
