Healthy Business Award

Rosemary Lee

Wigan CouncilConsumer Protection Department

April 2009

A Marriage Made in Heaven?

The size of the problem• Only 36% have a healthy body weight

• Over 20% are obese or very obese

• Over 35% are over weight

• Rising childhood obesity

• High blood pressure, CHD, Type 2 Diabetes, some cancers, etc

Time to move on?

• Smokefree

• Massive departmental reorganisation

• Rogers etc

• Under threat, Out sourcing?

• Time to move on?

We needed a plan!

Courting!

• Partnership working– We have the skills– We have the access– They have the money

No new wheels

Don’t forget the research!

• Dissertation research

• Heartbeat & others– Relatively low uptake– Popular with caterers and EHPs– Little customer awareness– Tendency to slip!

Why do we have a problem?

Lack of exercise

Loss of life skills within the home

More eating outside of the home

The social acceptability of snacking

Lack of nutrition knowledge in the catering industry

Our wish list

• Sufficient dedicated staff

• High profile publicity

• Interested and informed proprietors and staff

• Consumer demand

Reality check

• Staff funding

• Resources for media

• Council (and Cabinet) backing

• Resources for training

• Food hygiene

• Big bang!

The Award• Suitable for all food businesses

• Variations for client group

• Combination approach– Health by stealth (Kitchen practices)– Healthier alternatives to premium menu items– Healthy specials or menu section– Smaller Portions/ Children’s menu– Breastfeeding friendly

Monitoring

• Sampling

• Self assessment

• Customer feedback

• Mystery Shopper

• Regular visits

We don’t have a problem

• Do we?

• Can’t cook

• Don’t cook

The proposal & the dowry

• Presentation to PCT

• Bidding process

• Thinking big

• The final figure

A very suitable marriage!

• Fully funded award

• Well supported by national bodies

• Interest of major manufacturer

• National nursery company

• Possibility of further interventions/awards

• Possibility of spread

The honeymoon

• Joy!

• A new home

• In sickness

• In health

Back to reality!

• The service level agreement

• Targets

• Prescription

• Trust

• Marital bliss…… a stable relationship

Barriers

• A different language & culture

• The need to tick boxes

• Communication

• Service reorganisations

• Branding & the logo police

• Resistance to change

In the mean time

• 20 pilot businesses

• Diverse

• Cooking or preparing on site

• Tried out ideas & paper work

Focus groups

• Feed back from trial

• Views &

• What they wanted– From the award– From us

The Award• Suitable for all food businesses

• Variations for client group

• Combination approach– Health by stealth (Kitchen practices)– Healthier alternatives to premium menu items– Healthy specials or menu section– Smaller Portions/ Children’s menu– Breastfeeding friendly

How do we know the meals are healthier?

• Sampling out– Too expensive– Too slow– Businesses too keen

• Analysis in– Designed for the catering sector– Used by us, adapted for the consumer

Successes

• We have a new team

• We have funding

• We have a new award

• Enthusiasm and direction from caterers

• Public interest

What we didn’t get

• An over arching broadly compliant award.

• An escape route for the EH team

• Understanding business award

• Sampling baseline

What we did get

• Massive funding

• Healthy Business Award

• Community interest & involvement

• Partnership working has become acceptable

• Calorie counted food

A Marriage Made in Heaven?

Thank youRosemary Lee

Chartered EHP

r.lee@wigan.gov.uk

01942 828180