Lovelyland helps Shropshire’s Children’s Centres combat childhood obesity

News from our partners, Lovelyland

Shropshire Council’s Children Centres have teamed up with local social enterprise Lovelyland to help combat obesity in young children and support local community resources.

The partnership came together to launch a scheme in response to findings from the Public Health’s National Child Measurement Programme which highlighted an issue with overweight and obesity levels in 0-5-year-olds in Shropshire.

Lovelyland’s Green Kitchen Project is a dynamic and fun introduction to food-growing for young children and their families. The project which was launched in March 2016 has already been a roaring success, providing over 30 opportunities for our youngest children to engage with food through a collection of informative and structured activities which are all linked to either sowing, growing or harvesting food.

Figures show that in some parts of Shrewsbury more than 10% of children in Reception classes are obese. This trend almost doubles for those children weighed in Year 6. The Green Kitchen Project has reached over 100 children in the first month and hopes to engage many more families and raise awareness of healthy eating as the programme continues till August.

Clare Andrew, a Lovelyland volunteer stated:

“We are thrilled that the Green Kitchen Project has engaged so many families already through both the activities run at Shrewsbury Children’s Centres and the mail order activity packs, helping households to start growing their own food.”

David Minnery, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people, added:

“This is an excellent example of Shropshire Council Children’s Centres in the Shrewsbury area working in partnership with a local community interest company to help parents develop their skills and knowledge around how food grows whilst having fun outdoors with their children. This should help address the issues around childhood obesity in the area, which will have huge benefits going forward.”

The food-growing activities are part of the Children’s Centre Stay and Play sessions that are continuing through till August. They provide vegetable seeds and plants, sourced by Lovelyland and funded by Incredible Edible Shropshire, that families can take with them and grow in their own homes.

To find out more about the mail order activity packs visit www.lovelyland.co.uk.

To find out more information about this and other activities at your local Children’s Centre visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/surestartcentralshropshire