Food Skills Features
Features covering aspects of the work we do.
'Every Child Matters – Be Healthy' Project in Huntingdon
Tracey Holliday, who coordinates the work of the Huntingdon Town Children's Centre, describes this project - which forms a cornerstone of their work with children, young people and their families. The centre focuses on Oxmoor in Huntingdon and its services are delivered by a wide range of partners*.
We are fortunate to belong to a team which possesses expertise in community development, childcare, gardening, cookery, nutrition, health and education. Together, we have jointly tackled the practical issues surrounding individual eating behaviour since April 2004.
We have had many successes, but have also had to face up to everyday reality and continually respond to user feedback. Modern living dictates a fast pace, and the easy availability of low–cost ready meals and take–away foods often leads to the habitual intake of an unbalanced diet and the slow accumulation of food–related health problems which affect every level of our society.
There is, however, some light at the end of the tunnel, and many people are gradually realising that 'they are what they eat', and that the only way to secure the best chance of living a long, happy and healthy life is to get into the routine of selecting an appropriate range of foods for themselves and those around them.
To this end, we continue to bring the subject alive, by engaging children of all ages, parents, carers and health and education staff, by evolving the following areas of work:
- Learning about soil, weather, seasons and life cycles.
- Knowing how to select a balanced diet.
- Knowing how to cook from scratch.
Through our allotment demonstration plots and early years food gardens, the connection between 'soil and plate' is being made. We are communicating with the whole community through ante–natal and post–natal groups, playgroups, nursery, primary, special and secondary schools, youth groups and allotment tenants. Our expectation is not to convert all our students into gardening 'anoraks', but to ensure they all know more about where their food comes from.
Promoting the 'Balance of Good Health' has been central to our work, and warnings about the excess intake of salt, sugar and fats have been successfully incorporated in out message.
The new challenge facing us now is to support:
- The introduction of the 'Food in Schools Toolkit'.
- The reintroduction of nutritional standards in schools.
We are helping school communities to develop an understanding of these government initiatives, which include improving the school eating environment, where we have ambitions to bring back chairs, tables and plates, which have been absent in recent years.
We are helping school communities to develop an understanding of these government initiatives, which include improving the school eating environment, where we have ambitions to bring back chairs, tables and plates, which have been absent in recent years.
Learning how to cook has become a fun and positive experience for everyone involved and there is evidence in the field that the knowledge gained is being applied, which in some cases has genuinely changed lives. Sessions have been offered to pupils in Years 5 and 6 and to parent groups, who have come to realise how quick, simple and inexpensive cooking from scratch can be. Health visitors have referred parents to the courses, which have been greatly valued, both in terms of social interaction and in providing opportunities to learn new and forgotten skills.
The work we are doing is certainly not rocket science. However, in an age when obesity is predicted to rise to catastrophic levels and children's life expectancy is predicted to become less than that of their parents, it is a very challenging business, which can only be solved by a consistent, long–term approach. Inspiring everyone to eat well, having made informed decisions about the diet they consume, continues to be the central aim of this project.
For further information please contact Tracey Holliday by email at: tracey.holliday@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or on 01480 371027
*Partners include: Huntingdon Nursery School, Thongsley Fields Primary & Nursery School, St John's Primary School, St John's Little Learners Nursery, Spring Common Special School, Moorplay; Health Visitors & School Nurses, Cambridgeshire PCT.
First Published by Cambridgeshire County Council
'Learning Together' – Autumn 2006 – Issue 16
A termly magazine for school staff & governors.
