Food Focus is a joint initiative between The North Side Initiate For Community Health (NICHE) and the Knocknaheeny Health Action Zone (HAZ).

The aim of "Food Focus" is to

• Bring together individuals, groups and organisations actively engaged in local efforts around food and nutrition and to build connections across the community.
• Encourage communication about local food experiences and the challenges of the whole community by identifying barriers which prevent positive food experiences.
• Reflect the level of interest in, and the need for the development of food focused work.

A “Food Focus” lunch was held before Christmas.  This meeting demonstrated the local barriers to eating well, how interested people are in this issue, the abundance of food-focused work already taking place, and the difficulties of undertaking such work.   Parents, project workers, teachers and health care professionals were able to describe the local challenges to eating well. It was surprising to many the number and variety of food-focused efforts already taking place. There was a strong feeling that parents should be included and supported in community food activities.  The need for a holistic approach was identified whereby food relates to environment, transport, housing, health, social participation and income.

HAZ and NICHE have made a set of recommendations for “Food Focus”:

Instead of reinventing the wheel, it will support and strengthen existing efforts around healthy eating so that they may become more effective.

For more information contact:
Katherine Harford,
Community Health Worker
Knocknaheeny Health Action Zone

T: 021 4529023

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