Working with local communities to explore barriers to healthy eating

Evolving Communities worked with Gloucestershire Public Health team as part of a community project to explore barriers to eating well in Podsmead. We worked in the community to build relationships with people and groups locally, formed a residents panel and worked with a local cafe owner to organise a community food event. 

Public Health Gloucestershire – Food & Families Project

The Public Health team in Gloucestershire commissioned Evolving Communities Consultancy to help with a community collaboration project to look at food choices and barriers to eating well in Podsmead, an inner-city area of Gloucester.

Our work

One of our team embedded themselves in the local community and built links and relationships with residents and key groups already working in the area.  They recruited local people to form a resident’s panel.  Panel members helped design the questions that were used in the study, and resident researchers were trained to go out and speak with their fellow residents about barriers to healthy eating.

We also worked with a local café owner to organise a community food event where families could share their views over a free healthy meal.  Our Healthwatch Gloucestershire team and volunteers joined us at the event to gather feedback from the local community.

Findings from this project were used by the Public Health team, charities and those involved in local regeneration, in future planning around access to healthy food and reducing barriers to healthy eating.

Read the report