Ealing PCT ... Cooking up a Healthy Storm in Ealing!

Surely everyone knows how to cook healthily? Well, maybe…. But the local community in Ealing have found it's always useful to have some tips to hand! Cooking Your Way to Health (CYW2H) was set up in Ealing in July 2003 and funded by the Big lottery fund for 2 years. The aim was to engage with local communities to impart knowledge, promote healthy eating and improve food preparation and culinary skills for optimum health. This work is part of the 5 A DAY scheme, which aims to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables to reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

Finding Local Champions

Ealing's population of 200,948 is very diverse, with a large Asian community and many ethnic groups, religions and languages spoken. 4 local people, all speaking different languages, were trained by a dietician, to run cookery clubs in Southall and Acton, targeting socially and economically deprived communities.

Gathering the Ingredients

Each cookery club consists of 5 sessions, lasting for 2 hours and sessions are free to attend and held at primary schools, community and day centres. The cookery clubs people to develop skills to plan a healthy meal, provide education on portion sizes, food labelling and the balance of good health. Approximately 200 adults and children in Ealing have already attended a club; the majority of participants are female and the ethnic make up is diverse, e.g. South Asian, African and Somalian. An incentive for their attendance is a free resource pack, with useful nutrition information and healthy recipes!

The Recipe for Success

Due to the ethnic diversity of the population, the cookery clubs focus on adapting traditional recipes to reduce fats, sugars, salt and increase fruit and vegetable content, ensuring the results are tasty and healthy alternatives. Some examples of dishes include: chickpea savoury snack, roasted vegetable and feta cheese tart, pasta and vegetables and fresh fruit salad. One participant reported:

'Today we tried adapted recipes without added sugar or salt…. They tasted delicious. I never knew food could be so tasty without sugar or salt.'

Savouring the Results

Funding for the cookery clubs finishes in December 2005. If alternative funding isn't found, we will lose the capacity to influence health through diet in the community and school settings. This will be a great disappointment to the community as the cookery clubs have been very popular; 13 were set up in year 1 and 18 in year 2. In addition, the clubs play an important role in reducing pressure on NHS resources by helping to decrease incidence of disease resulting from a poor diet, such as obesity, CHD and diabetes. This is well above the targets initially set and there is still a demand for more to be set up! Attendees report enjoying the sessions and the healthy eating messages have soon been spread to their friends;

'I've really enjoyed the cooking clubs. Today I learnt about healthy food, portion sizes and how to reduce fat, sugar and salt. I will tell my friends to come.'

Cookery club leaders have been actively working in local primary and secondary schools with groups of pupils, on healthy food tasting, healthy snacks, how to make healthy sandwiches and packed lunches. They have also facilitated 4 primary schools in Ealing to set up healthy tuck shops, selling fruit to pupils. At 1 school, professional chefs from the 'Adopt a school scheme' have also worked with pupils aged 7-11, to provide practical food education and basic food preparation skills. This has encouraged a whole school and family approach and reinforces the importance of establishing healthy eating habits early in life, which is fundamental for a long-term reduction in health inequalities.

The 'mini chefs', aged 7-11, enthused by cooking and healthy eating, from North Primary School in Ealing

For further information about the cookery clubs, please contact

Sonia Sharma, 5 A DAY Co-ordinator. Sonia.Sharma@ealingpct.nhs.uk,

Natalie Shepping, Health Development Manager, Natalie.shepping@ealingpct.nhs.uk

Melissa Arkinstall, CYW2H Project Manager Melissa.Arkinstall@ealingpct.nhs.uk