We are making good progress with scoping the Highfields area, for our Cook & Eat project. I thought it would be helpful to give an overview of our journey so far.
Where have we been?
In Highfields the health statistics and public feeling spoke for themselves and there was little question that our focus had to tackle the high rates of Diabetes and Heart Disease in the area.
Standard diet and nutrition advice hadn’t worked here in the past, because it didn’t fit with the recipes that people in Highfields like to cook and eat. It was also felt that any solutions had to be sustainable by the community, funding could come and go but skills and aspirations would still be active.
Where are we now?
Our community health development worker Naim Razak, has regular contact with local people and extensive knowledge of Highfields. As a result, Naim is passionate that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not suitable here, because of the complex mix of nationalities and cultures.
So, we have a strategy not dissimilar to Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food. Our strategy is to educate local people about healthy cooking techniques and ingredients, and roll out this knowledge through our ‘community connectors’ in ways that respect culture, faith and lifestyle.
We realise the importance of selling the benefits of healthy cooking and eating to this community, and making positive change easy, accessible and useful for local people.
Where are we going?
It is just as important to scope our doctors and clinicians, as it is our communities. What are their barriers? What support do they need? We will meet with the local dietetics service over the next week or so, to set the scene of Cook & Eat and talk through the above.
Slightly further ahead, we have proposed a ‘working lunch’ meeting in December for around 20 people. Delegates will include the key contacts for local organisations such as the Caribbean Centre and Shama Women’s Centre, as our ‘hooks’ into the community connectors. Again, the meeting will set the scene of the Community Dialogue Programme, especially the idea of ‘co-designing’. It will also introduce the staff from NHS Leics City that are involved and set actions to move the cook and eat sessions forward.
Who else could be involved?
We agreed that it will be essential to involve local schools, and we had some great ideas about healthy recipe competitions as a fun, interactive way of raising awareness. Naim already has many contacts in this area, as a result of a similar project that took place last year. It would be brilliant to get families working together on this; children supporting and educating their parents and grandparents, and older family members sharing recipes. We identified the ‘National Healthy School Standard’ as a possible incentive to get schools involved. GPs and health workers will also be a vital cog in the wheel of change, providing support, advice and signposts to cook and eat activities and community support.
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