Food & Health Alliance

Summary of the day

The first ever Food & Health Alliance event took place in February 2008, with over 150 members of Scotland's food and health workforce meeting in Glasgow to celebrate the successes of the Scottish Diet Action Plan (SDAP) and to plan how to move forward. Although there is still much to be done, the overall mood of the meeting was extremely positive, with most agreeing there had been enormous progress in implementing the SDAP in the last decade.

Professor Peter Donnelly, Scotland's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, praised the work of everyone who has worked so hard to implement the SDAP. He went on to identify some of the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead. In particular he raised the issues of rising levels of obesity and the need to understand Scotland's food culture and eating habits.

Over the course of the day delegates had the chance to examine some of the key ingredients in their successes of the past decade and discuss how they would like to take things forward. 

One innovative method of teasing out these ideas was through a picture gallery, which acted as a chronological journal of the key moments of the day. An entire wall was covered with cartoons of key stepping stones. Participants were asked to say whether they agreed or disagreed with the choice of stepping stones.

They also took part in two thought-provoking workshops designed to examine what health and food projects had made a real difference and why. In addition they were asked to imagine what they would like to achieve in the future. A number of themes emerged. These included:

• Ensuring all children were fed healthy foods, from the time they are babies through to adulthood
• Supporting parents
• Incorporating local food into health initiatives
• Prioritising healthy local foods within the supply chain
• Increasing food skills and education
• Building healthy communities
• Improving communication channels

In addition increased and sustainable funding was seen as essential, as was building upon existing partnerships and fostering new alliances. A key ingredient in achieving these goals, it was agreed, was passion. Delegates agreed it was vital to communicate the vision for a healthier Scotland. To do that, everyone would need to continue to be courageous in making the case for change despite the obstacles.

Gillian Kynoch, Food and Health Coordinator at the Scottish Executive, said that over the next four years the Scottish Executive will work on embedding aspects of food and health into the delivery plans of various departments, as well as focusing on a number of priorities:

• Maternal nutrition covering pre-conception, pregnancy and immediately after, especially in low income areas
• Infant nutrition
• Creating a healthy environment for children
• Raising nutritional standards in the public sector
• The food industry has an important role to play.
• The social marketing messages that are reaching adult Scots will be monitored,
• A monitoring and surveillance package will be developed to track further changes and trends in what people are eating as will children's diets.

Delegates also watched a short film Recipe for a Healthier Scotland recognising the important contribution they have made to the successful implementation of some SDAP recommendations.

Full conference report attached.