Healthy Eating

I believe that it is important to promote healthy eating in Stoke-on-Trent.

On 30 June 2010, I introduced to Parliament the 'Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill'. If passed, this Bill would:

• require government to create health, environmental and social standards for all public sector food
• develop these standards over time
• set out a framework by which the standards will be introduced by all public sector organisations

Please take a look at my The Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill page and also visit: http://www.sustainweb.org/goodfoodforourmoney/

I have been working hard in the constituency engaging the City Council, the Primary Care Trust, local schools and health agencies to see what can be done.
In March I organised a Food Summit at Port Vale Football Club at which I was delighted to welcome celebrity chef Prue Leith who has agreed to work with us in the city. Prue is Chair of the School Food Trust and has vast experience and a proven track record in healthy eating initiatives.

The Summit brought together interested parties from across the city to see how we could promote and co-ordinate efforts to improve health. A number of very useful suggestions were made and some real progress has been made. I have set up a Google Group so that I can keep people informed of progress and so that everyone can share ideas and best practice that the rest might like to follow. If you would like to join this group please click here:
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/healthyeatingsot

To summarise some of the successes to date:

• The School Food Trust is running the Million Meals campaign in the city to ensure that everyone eating school meals receives a balanced nutritious meal.

• The Lets Get Cooking campaign is launching in schools this September. I wrote to all local schools encouraging them to take part in the scheme and I am delighted that 11 schools in the constituency chose to do so. This scheme sets up cooking clubs in schools to teach pupils and parents simple, healthy recipes which are fun to cook.

• Two schools in the constituency (Burnwood Primary and James Brindley Science College) have been awarded flagship status by the Food for Life Partnership. It is estimated that this will result in an increased take up of school meals, organic school gardens and increased community involvement in growing food. Flagship schools will be a resource for the local area, committed to sharing their learning and spreading the healthy and sustainable food message through hosting visits, events, and keeping a regular blog amongst other activities. This is a great achievement and I hope that this will firmly put the spotlight on food in Stoke-on-Trent.

• I have also tabled a number of parliamentary questions to follow up on some of the points raised at our food summit. I thought you might be interested to see the Minister's responses and so I have posted the links below.

o The importance of ceramic tableware in schools

o Free school meals eligibility

o Free school meals

o Kitchen facilities as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme

o Obesity

If you have any ideas on how else we can drive this agenda forward please do let me know.

To see a video of the Food Summit please click on the following link http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/MP/Food-guru-Prue-Leith-aims-whip-city-shape/article-775006-detail/article.html