Promoting environments that foster healthy eating

Stengthening community and reducing health inequities is one of the ways that Community and Public Health aims to improve the health and wellbeing of the people in our region. We do this by providing education, taking a system-based approach and advocating policies that make the healthy choice the easy choice.

Specific work is focussed on actions and outcomes to create change in food, nutrition and physical activity environments and behaviours, such as increasing access to food (food security).

Community and Public Health staff work towards creating nutrition environments that foster and enable healthy eating, along with resources that support actions to reduce poor nutrition that may result in chronic disease. The key messages for a healthy lifestyle include:

• Eat a variety of nutritious foods.
• Eat more vegetables and fruits.
• Eat less processed foods that are often fatty, salty, and sugary.
• Exclusively breastfeed infants for six months where possible, and introduce complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for at least one year and beyond.
• Be active every day for at least 30 minutes in as many ways as possible.
• Add some vigorous exercise and resistance for extra benefit and fitness.
• Aim to maintain a healthy weight throughout life.
• Promote and foster the development of environments that support healthy lifestyles.

Promoting nutrition in education and community settings

Promote nutrition in community and education settings has a direct impact on the health and motivation of those involved, including staff, and children or students.

Current work by Community and Public Health staff includes:

• supporting schools’ edible gardens and orchards;
• helping schools to develop nutrition policies around canteens, lunches and fundraising;
• assisting schools to become Water Only Schools;
• resourcing kaiako in early childhood settings around oral health issues such as tooth-friendly kai and drinks;
• encouraging early childhood settings to be breastfeeding friendly;
• supporting tertiary institutions to develop nutrition policies;
• supporting community groups with nutrition resources;
• working collaboratively to build a strong and resilient food system and increasing food security for Cantabrians; and
• providing expertise to help community organisations and councils develop and apply healthy food and beverage policies.

• Find out more about Health Promoting Schools work by Community and Public Health.
• Read the latest Healthy Nibbles information sheet.
• Get nutrition tips to add to your school newsletters.

Helping to create healthier workplaces

Current initiatives in workplaces are focussed on assisting workplaces in the development of wellness programmes.
There is growing evidence that comprehensive workplace health promotion programs are cost effective and improve employee health. Identified benefits include increased employee satisfaction and retention, and decreased absenteeism and injuries on the job.

Community and Public Health has developed a framework that is flexible and easily adapted to suit the needs of an organisation. The framework consists of a step-by-step process through several different elements to create a tailored health promotion programme. This approach has been shown to increase morale in the workplace as employees work together to meet the challenges of adopting a healthy lifestyle.

• Download a copy of the Healthy Food and Drink Policy for Organisations (Ministry of Health 2016).

Working to improve food resilience in Christchurch and Canterbury

Community and Public Health is part of the Food Resilience Network (FRN) aiming to create and maintain Ōtākaro Orchard – a highly accessible, engaging, and unique orchard and garden in central Christchurch. The space will show sustainable and organic food systems in practice and build on its history as a place to gather mahinga kai. There will also be an information centre and a collaborative café, alongside the Canterbury Horticultural Society.

• Download the Christchurch Food Resilience Network Action Plan.

Community and Public Health is also a signatory to the Edible Canterbury Charter.

Documents

• Household Food Insecurity among Children: New Zealand Health Survey (Ministry of Health 2019)
• Children and Young People Living Well and Staying Well: New Zealand Childhood Obesity Programme Baseline Report 2016/17 (Ministry of Health)
• How We Eat: Reviews of the evidence on food and eating behaviours related to diet and body size (Ministry of Health 2017)
• Healthy Food and Drink Policy for Organisations (Ministry of Health 2016)
• Guidelines for School Food Programmes (Te Kete Ipurangi – Ministry of Education 2014)
• Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Older People: A background paper (Ministry of Health 2013)

• Effective health behaviour change in long-term conditions: A review of NZ and international evidence (Ministry of Health 2012)
• Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (Aged 2–18 years): A background paper (Ministry of Health 2012)
• A Focus on Nutrition: Key findings of the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey (Ministry of Health 2011)
• A National Survey of Children and Young People’s Physical Activity and Dietary Behaviours in New Zealand: 2008/09 – Key Findings (Ministry of Health 2010)
• University of Otago Food Cost Survey
• Family Food Environment: Barriers to acquiring affordable and nutritious food in NZ households (Families Commission 2010)

Downloads

Download or order resources from the Community Health Information Centre.

• Eating for Healthy Children: from 2 to 12 years
• Eating for Healthy Babies and Toddlers: from birth to 2 years
• Healthy Eating for Young People: from 13 to 18 years old
• Healthy eating, active living – formerly Eating for Healthy Adults
• Eating for Healthy Vegetarians – no longer in print
• Eating for Healthy Older People
• Eat healthy food and move more every day
• VegUp – Māori, Pacific and Chinese cultural versions available for download

Links

• Activity and Nutrition Aotearoa – formerly Agencies for Nutrition Action
• Ministry of Health
• Healthy Kids
• Health Promotion Agency
• Breastfeeding (Ministry of Health)
• La Leche League
• Appetite for Life
• Food Standards Australia New Zealand
• Edible Canterbury

Feeding your family for less or on a budget

Community and Public Health staff are also interested in addressing issues around access and availability of affordable food (food security). This involves working with disadvantaged groups such as those on low incomes and those living alone (especially men). If you are finding it hard to make your food budget stretch, then try one of the following menu plans for some new ideas.

• Download the Family Budget Cooking Menu Plan to feed a family for $145 per week – updated June 2017.
• Download the Single Person Budget Cooking Menu Plan – updated June 2017.
• Download some easy tasty recipes created by Community and Public Health staff.
• Download information sheets and recipes from the Fruit and Vege Co-operative.
• Order a seasonal recipe book from the Community Health Information Centre.

The Heart Foundation also produces two cookbooks of nutritious recipes on a budget:

• Cheap Eats; and
• Affordable Eats.

Join the Fruit and Vegetable Co-op in greater Christchurch

The Fruit and Vegetable Co-op is now called Foodtogether. It operates as a stand-alone social enterprise in Christchurch and North Canterbury, and is supported by the Healthy Life Trust.

There are also other fruit and vegetable co-operatives in Christchurch such as the:

• Affordable Fruit and Vegetable Group; and
• Christchurch South Fruit and Vegetable Collective.