Recently at Southampton City Council, our trading standards department, of which I am the leader, has been actively involved in promoting the 5 A DAY campaign across the whole city.
Although promoting healthy eating is a relatively small part of the trading standards business plan, it is still recognised as being crucial to the health and well-being of our residents.
There are areas within Southampton of real health and social deprivation, and we have developed a range of programmes aimed at supporting these more vulnerable and deprived sectors.
These initiatives provide information and advice on topics such as improving community safety and promoting independent living, as well as giving advice on healthy living. As such, the 5 A DAY Just Eat More (fruit and veg) message is now an important part of our outreach and education programme.
Historically, we have found that communicating the importance of healthy eating directly to residents can be a challenging task, especially at community events or shows, when others competing for attention include ice cream stalls and burger vans. So, this summer we had to come up with a new and fun way to engage with the public, to really drive home the benefits of eating five portions of fruit and veg a day. This is when we came up with the idea of creating a 5 A DAY Fruit Shy.
Based on the principle of a coconut shy, the aim of the 5 A DAY Fruit Shy was to knock down fruit-shaped plywood cut-outs using a bean bag.
The shy itself was painted with bright, eye-catching colours to really make it stand out and appeal to adults and young children alike. Once they had taken part, each participant won a fruit of their choice, such as an apple, orange or banana.
Over the summer we took the 5 A DAY Fruit Shy, along with our information stand, to four community events in various parts of Southampton.
The fruit shy was a great success and attracted a large number of visitors. When talking to residents who visited the shy, we found that the 5 A DAY message was widely understood and that people were interested in hearing about the health benefits of eating five portions of fruit and veg a day.
Overall, the 5 A DAY Fruit Shy was a great asset to have when educating residents about the importance of the project.
More than 1,000 people visited the shy during the summer, and we have since lent it to other events and are already taking bookings for next year!
