This participatory public engagement event ran in the Salvation Army community venue in Whitleigh, Plymouth, as part of the ‘Holiday Hunger’ (Feast of Fun) series of events.
It brought together community food researchers, food system stakeholders, community members (families, individuals) and FoodSEqual research team members, to celebrate all things VEGETABLES. By enabling knowledge exchange around the socio-cultural determinants of food, participatory creative methods were used as a vehicle to discuss and debate topical local food issues to create a vision for food that can be carried into the future.
It is well known that fruit and vegetable intake is strongly associated with socio-economic status (Food Foundation 2023), i.e. consumption is lower in areas of high deprivation (NDNS, 2019). Such areas, often described as ‘food deserts,’ offer easy access to cheaper, poor quality foods (high fat, salt, sugar) and poor access to fruit and vegetables. As a result, health outcomes are negatively affected, e.g. obesity, diabetes are more prevalent.
This event was held in response to a series of recent local community Vegetable workshops we ran (as part of FoodSEqual), the results of which indicated that local citizens want better access to and affordability of fresh vegetables. It acted as a catalyst for FoodSEqual's new project arm FoodSEqual-Health, celebrating the health and sustainability elements of vegetables. By engaging with local communities and stakeholders with an interest in vegetables, we used creative approaches to share knowledge and consider ways to improve access to and intake of vegetables within the local community.
Email clare.pettinger@plymouth.ac.uk or lisa.howard@plymouth.ac.uk for further information.
