State-subsidised restaurants to offer nutritious food to deprived households
They are one of six newly announced projects that will receive £8.5 million in Government funding to tackle food inequality, including a mapping tool to direct a mobile greengrocer to visit areas of Liverpool where social housing residents have limited access to fresh fruit and vegetables.
Exciting news! 🎉
The @QueenGreensBus is launching a new route from today, bringing affordable #GoodFood to new stops across #Liverpool and #Knowsley.
Food can be bought using cash, card, @NHSHealthyStart cards and @AlexRoseCharity vouchers.
Timetable👉https://t.co/k3iWxBAjdw pic.twitter.com/H9h97HueF4
— Queen of Greens (@QueenGreensBus) September 9, 2024
Under the Liverpool initiative, expected to begin in spring of next year, research will direct the 'Queen of Greens' bus, which has delivered fresh fruit and vegetables to communities across Liverpool and Knowsley since 2022, to residents in social housing who may find it harder to access healthier options in their neighbourhoods, Mr Kyle said.
In some areas, residents will receive vouchers to buy fruit and vegetables from the bus.
Researchers will measure how the diet and health of recipients change as a result of the initiative in order to predict the effect of it being rolled out across the country.
It follows the launch of the Government's 10-Year Health Plan, which last week included the announcement that supermarkets could be fined if they do not sell healthier food.
Other projects will assess the role of community food markets in areas of Glasgow with limited access to grocery stores, known as 'food deserts', surveying food pantry users to find out about other activities and support they would like to see on offer, such as cooking sessions or recipe boxes, and improving the nutritional content and take-up of free school meals.
Mr Kyle said: 'No one in this country should be left unable to access the healthy food they need – which is why interventions like the Queen of Greens are so important – and measuring their impact is so vital.
'These projects will draw on the power of research to actively explore the best ways to get healthy food into the mouths of those who need it, potentially having a transformational effect on people's lives, and fulfilling the missions set in our Plan for Change.'
Lucy Antal, director of Alchemic Kitchen CIC (Community Interest Company), who runs the Queen of Greens, said: 'We are very much looking forward to working on this new research project with all the team assembled by the University of Liverpool.
'It will be a great opportunity to trial an expansion into supporting social housing tenants to access fresh produce, and to have the health and social impact of this intervention measured and assessed. The Queen of Greens is for everyone, and the data produced will help support our future activity.'
Professor Alison Park, deputy executive chairwoman of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), said: 'Everyone should have access to healthy, nutritious food but we know the number of food insecure households across the UK is increasing.
'These innovative projects from across the UK – from Wales to Dundee, Nottingham to the Isle of Wight – will go a long way in helping us understand how to tackle food inequalities and what interventions really make a difference.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Public ‘will not forgive' strike action by resident doctors, says Streeting
It comes after a British Medical Association (BMA) ballot in which resident doctors in England, formerly known as junior doctors, voted to strike over pay, giving them a mandate for action until January 2026. The Health Secretary wrote in The Times that walkouts would be a 'disaster' for BMA members and patients, saying the Government 'can't afford' pay rises. He said: 'I urge the BMA, even at this late stage, to reconsider this deeply damaging course of action. 'Work with a government that actually wants to work with you: to improve working conditions for staff and care for patients. 'The public will not forgive strike action in these circumstances and nor will I.' Some 90% of voting resident doctors backed strike action, with the BMA reporting a turnout of 55%. The union has said that resident doctors need a pay uplift of 29.2% to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: 'All we need is a credible pay offer and nobody need strike. 'Doctors don't take industrial action lightly – but they know it is preferable to watching their profession wither away. 'The next move is the Government's.' A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We aren't going to reopen negotiations on pay. 'Resident doctors have received the highest pay award across the public sector for two years in a row, and we've been clear that we can't be more generous than we already have this year.' Previous strikes by resident doctors and other staff groups saw some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations postponed as a result. The waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England is currently at its lowest level for two years, according to the latest figures, with an estimated 7.39 million treatments waiting to be carried out at the end of April. Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, which is part of the NHS Confederation, said: 'Further strikes are the last thing health leaders wanted and could result in tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of operations and procedures being delayed or cancelled, leaving patients in pain or discomfort.' Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: 'A return to industrial action would be a huge setback – bad for patients, for staff and for the NHS.' In September, BMA members voted to accept a Government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years. And the 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4% uplift plus £750 'on a consolidated basis' – working out as an average pay rise of 5.4%. The BMA call for a 29.2% uplift is based on Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, the measure of average changes in the price of goods and services used by most households.
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Weight loss jabs alone will not be enough to turn the tide on obesity
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) called on the Government to make sure people across the country have equal access to weight management services. It should also make sure people have wraparound support to help ensure they do not pile back the pounds on after they have lost weight, the RCP said. It also called for action to tackle the nation's 'broken food system' to help people make healthier choices, including reducing 'aggressive' marketing and advertising of unhealthy food. In a new position statement, the College said: 'Medication alone will not be enough to make meaningful and lasting progress on tackling obesity.' It said that the Government must also tackle the 'social and environmental drivers of obesity'. The position statement adds: 'Policies should reduce aggressive marketing and advertising of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar, while increasing the availability and affordability of healthy foods from an early age. 'We must tackle our broken food system and ensure it is easier for all to choose to eat healthily.' #BetterHealth offers a range of free NHS apps to help people eat better and get active, including the NHS Weight Loss Plan app. Data shows it can help people lose 5.8kg on average over just 12 weeks. Find out more: — NHS London (@NHSEnglandLDN) July 25, 2023 Last week the Government pledged to 'launch a moonshot to end the obesity epidemic' in its 10 Year Plan for Health. Now the College has urged ministers to set out details and timelines of how it will deliver this commitment. It comes as the College released a poll of members and fellows, showing that four in five (80%) of almost 19,000 doctors in the UK, surveyed by the RCP, said that the number of patients they see with obesity has increased over the last five years. The RCP warned that treatment for other illnesses is less effective as a result of obesity. Dr Kath McCullough, special adviser on obesity for the RCP, said: 'The narrative that obesity is about personal responsibility or that new medications will solve the problem is misleading. 'Obesity is a chronic illness shaped by a range of factors and influences – and it's on the rise. 'We are seeing daily how obesity causes and makes it harder to treat conditions, from diabetes and arthritis to heart disease and cancer. 'The NHS 10 Year Plan rightly sets out a suite of measures that can be used in the fight against obesity, but the armoury is far from complete. 'Weight loss drugs can be part of the solution for some patients, but our efforts must focus on preventing people developing obesity and overweight in the first place. 'We welcome the measures Government announced last week – they have great potential. We look forward to seeing the detail on how we will translate that ambition into reality.' RCP president Dr Mumtaz Patel said: 'Doctors are telling us loud and clear about the scale and impacts of obesity. It is undermining treatment, driving up complications and placing additional pressure on an already overwhelmed NHS. 'In less affluent communities, we're watching obesity fuel a vicious cycle – people are getting sicker, their care becomes harder to deliver and the system just can't catch up. 'We welcome steps the Government is taking. No few individual measures will be enough. It is a complex problem that requires multifaceted solutions. 'We need bold, joined-up preventative action that tackles the genetic, social, economic and commercial factors that drive obesity.' An estimated 1.5 million are taking weight loss jabs in the UK. Around 29% of adults in the UK are obese.
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
First neighbourhood health services to be rolled out from September
Council bosses and local health chiefs have been urged to apply to join the first phase of the programme, which will bring tests, post-op care, mental health support and nursing teams closer to people's homes. The initiative is part of the Government's 10-year health plan, which was unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer last week. In his speech, the Prime Minister said the 'status quo of hospital by default will end', with the intention that the majority of outpatient care will happen outside of hospitals by 2035. Local councils and health chiefs have now been urged to apply to the programme by giving examples of innovation in their areas. Applicants will then join a national coaching programme, which will take place over the summer, with 42 sites beginning delivery of services from September. Priority will be given to deprived communities with the greatest need, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with staff focusing on patients with long-term conditions and complex needs. A joint taskforce has been set up by the DHSC and NHS England, chaired by Sir John Oldham, to drive progress. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'Our 10-year health plan committed to building a neighbourhood health service, and we're hitting the ground running on delivering it. 'If we are to get patients cared for faster, on their doorstep and even in their own home, then we need to shift the focus of the NHS from hospitals to the community. 'Today, we are issuing an open invitation to local authorities and health services to become pioneer neighbourhood health services and lead the charge of healthcare reform. 'As part of our plan for change, we're beginning the neighbourhood health service in areas of greatest need first, to tackle the unfair health inequalities that blight our country.' The call comes weeks after Mr Streeting announced that around £2.2 billion previously set aside to plug financial holes will be spent on staff, medicines, new technology and equipment in rural communities, coastal towns and working class regions. The Government is also working on places to create neighbourhood health centres across the country. Eventually, these centres will be open 12 hours a day, six days a week, with teams comprising doctors, nurses, social care workers and pharmacists.
