Nutrition and Food Poverty Toolkit

A toolkit for those involved in developing or implementing a local nutrition and food poverty strategy
Written by Dr Vivienne Press
Edited by Modi Mwatsama
National Heart Forum, 2004
ISBN 1 874279 12 8

This new toolkit aims to help professionals tackle food poverty at local level. Nutrition and Food Poverty brings together in one volume information essential to developing a local food poverty strategy.

The toolkit:

  • Outlines the barriers to healthy eating and the scientific evidence on the role of poor nutrition in the major public health problems in the UK;
  • Details key messages for healthy eating and includes practical tips on how people on low incomes can achieve a better diet;
  • Demonstrates how nutrition and food poverty strategies can help to achieve local targets and how they are central to the Government’s health and inequalities agenda
  • Shows how nutrition and food poverty strategies inter-relate with the Government’s environment, social and education policies and programmes
  • Provides background information on how to write and implement a local strategy
  • Provides a comprehensive list of examples of good practice and further sources of guidance is included to assist with strategy development.

Who is the toolkit aimed at?

It is aimed at a wide range of stakeholders, including strategic planners in the NHS and local government, Local Strategic Partnerships, nutritionists, dietitians, health promotion specialists and 5 A Day co-ordinators, National Service Framework (NSF) co-ordinators and leads, primary care professionals, physical activity specialists and community food workers, and those working on food related issues in the education, social services and environmental services.

How can I get a copy of the toolkit?

The toolkit can be downloaded below. It has been split into seven separate PDF files for ease of navigation. A brief description of each PDF is provided.

Hard copies of the toolkit can be ordered from by emailing the National Heart Forum, visiting the National Heart Forum's website or by tel: 020 7383 7638

Download the toolkit

  • Preliminaries and Executive Summary [PDF]
    This section contains the Foreword, Contents, Executive Summary and Introduction to the toolkit.
    22 pages.
  • Section A: What is healthy eating? [PDF]
    This section gives the main healthy eating messages for most individuals, explains the beneficial effects of food on health and provides practical tips on how people on low incomes can achieve a healthier diet. Tool A1 provides the research evidence of the benefits of healthy eating. 40 pages.

    This section can be used by primary care professionals to help in consultations, and by physical activity specialists to help in the management of clients who are overweight or obese.
  • Section B: Why consider what people eat? [PDF]
    This section shows the importance of poor diets in the development of avoidable chronic diseases, and in health inequalities. 8 Pages.

    This section can be used by public health professionals, registered public health nutritionists, dietitians, community food workers and other professionals as background information for strategies, or for making the case for action to colleagues in primary care.
  • Section C: Why prioritise strategies for nutrition and food poverty? [PDF]
    This section shows how nutrition and food poverty strategies can help to achieve local targets and how they are central to the government’s health agenda. It also shows how they give benefit to and receive support from the government’s environment, social and education policies and programmes, and outlines the effects of the Common Agricultural Policy. 22 pages.

    This section will help establish food poverty as a priority issue.
  • Section D: Developing a local nutrition and food poverty strategy [PDF]
    This section gives background information to help you develop and write a local nutrition and food poverty strategy. It includes information on the barriers to healthy eating. It also gives an outline of a local strategy. The first section – Recognising the underlying barriers to healthy eating – will also be useful for health and physical activity professionals. 32 pages.
  • Section E: Choosing interventions to reduce food poverty [PDF]
    This section describes the types of settings for local food programmes, and the range of local projects that can be successful in tackling food poverty and the barriers to healthy eating. It includes several examples of good practice. 26 pages.
  • Section F: Resources [PDF]
    This section lists sources of further information – publications, organisations and websites – on the scientific basis of healthy eating and on developing strategies to improve nutrition and alleviate food poverty. 14 pages.