Latest news with #QueenOfGreens
Sky News
08-07-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Government funding for state-subsidised restaurants, fruit and veg vouchers and mobile greengrocer to help deprived households
Why you can trust Sky News Two state-subsidised restaurants, fresh fruit and vegetable vouchers, and a mobile greengrocer delivering nutritious food to deprived communities have been unveiled as part of government plans to support struggling households. Six projects across the UK will share £8.5m in government funding in a bid to make good food more available to the people who need it. Two state-subsidised restaurants are to open in Dundee and Nottingham next summer. The eateries will provide "universal access" to nutritious and sustainably-produced food in social settings, and particularly meet the needs of deprived households with children, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said. Elsewhere, the Queen of Greens bus has been bringing affordable fresh fruit and vegetables to communities across Liverpool and Knowsley since 2022. Funding will now be put towards a mapping tool which will help target the vehicle's route to ensure it reaches residents in social housing who may find it harder to access healthier options in their neighbourhoods. In some areas, residents will receive vouchers from Alexandra Rose Charity to buy food from the bus. Researchers will measure how diet and health changes as a result of the initiative and then use a computer model to predict the broader impacts if these interventions were 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."
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Liverpool mobile greengrocer to reach ‘food deserts' with aid of mapping tool
A mobile greengrocer will deliver fresh fruit and vegetables in areas of Liverpool where it is 'easier to buy a vape than an apple' as part of a new government scheme to tackle food inequality. Families in social housing will receive visits from the Queen of Greens, a mobile greengrocer in the city, which will be directed to the areas of highest need. Researchers at the University of Liverpool have created a mapping tool to identify areas with the poorest access to fresh fruit and vegetables, known as food deserts. More than 7 million adults across the UK, the equivalent of one in seven households, experienced food insecurity in January this year, according to the charity Food Foundation – almost double the figure in 2020. Food insecurity is defined as skipping meals or cutting back due to difficulties in affording or accessing nutrition. Peter Kyle, the science secretary, described the number of families struggling to eat nutritious food as 'shocking'. He said he hoped the Liverpool project, which began on Monday, would be expanded across the UK if it was successful. 'Places like Liverpool for too often have been the last to benefit from new waves of investment [and] new technologies,' he said. 'As the country goes through economic change sometimes it's been at the detriment to places like Liverpool – but not with this government … I want the rest of the country to learn from Liverpool.' The Queen of Greens delivers affordable fresh food to about 470 households a week after launching in the city three years ago, when the cost of living crisis left many cutting back on essentials. Lucy Antal, the director of the community interest company that runs the service, said: 'There's always a lot of talk about people needing to eat better … but when you're living in a space where it's easier to buy a vape than an apple that makes it very difficult for people to follow public health advice, to feel good about themselves. 'It probably has an adverse effect on people's mental health to realise that they can't give their children the best start in life because of where they live or what their environment is like.' Antal said she estimated that another 100 families a week would be served by the government-funded expansion, which will be targeted in areas of social housing ill-served by supermarkets. The University of Liverpool will analyse the effect of this new approach on people's diet and their broader health. Prof Charlotte Hardman, who is leading the project, said the mapping tool would draw on social housing data and direct the Queen of Greens to those in greatest walking distance to healthy food. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion She said the three-year pilot, expected to get under way next spring, would estimate the potential public health impacts of mobile greengrocer schemes if they were rolled out more widely. Liverpool's mobile service is one of six projects given a combined £8.5m by the government to tackle food inequality. In Dundee and Nottingham, two state-subsidised 'public restaurants' will open to provide healthy meals costing £3 to £5 in areas of high need. Other schemes in Southampton, the New Forest and the Isle of Wight will aim to improve the quality of ingredients handed out at food pantries, which are similar to food banks but do not require a customer referral. A survey by the Food Foundation in January found that 2.4 million adults – 4.6% of UK households – had gone without food for a whole day because they could not afford or access it. Single parents were more than twice as likely to experience food insecurity than other families with children, the research found, with nearly one in three reporting skipping full meals.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
State-subsidised restaurants to offer nutritious food to deprived households
Two state-subsidised restaurants are to open in Dundee and Nottingham to provide deprived households with access to nutritious food in a social setting, the Government has announced. The restaurants, to open in the summer of next year, will provide 'universal access' to nutritious and sustainably-produced food in social settings, and particularly meet the needs of deprived households with children, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said. 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👉 — 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.'
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
State-subsidised restaurants to offer nutritious food to deprived households
Two state-subsidised restaurants are to open in Dundee and Nottingham to provide deprived households with access to nutritious food in a social setting, the Government has announced. The restaurants, to open in the summer of next year, will provide 'universal access' to nutritious and sustainably-produced food in social settings, and particularly meet the needs of deprived households with children, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said. 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. 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.'
