Agenda item

·Live Well Stay Well

·Grow it, Cook it, Eat it

·Community training opportunities

Mr Owain Jones, Service Co-ordinator from Live Well Stay Well provided an update on the services they provided for the community.

• Live Well Stay Well was a single point of access for healthy lifestyles referrals. Residents could self-refer for the service or GPs and health providers could provide referral.
• There was a broad range of services offered including stop smoking support, adult weight management, child weight management through family intervention services and outreach NHS health checks for over 40s.
• Free NHS Health checks had been conducted at Amersham Lifestyle Centre with 7 people attending. Further checks were available at the Oasis Partnership in Chesham and Chesham Library. If there were any suggestions for future locations that would benefit from holding NHS checks please get in contact.
• Exercise on referral would be available in the near future, this would entitle residents to a 12-week programme with free access to their local gym and swimming pool alongside 121 support by referral from their GP. Wycombe Leisure Centre was already running a GP referral service with free membership service alongside 121 support for £60.
• The Stop Smoking service was for residents over 12 years of age and foster homes and care homes were targeted for support. The service offered many benefits including free 121 support in neutral locations.
• Child weight management meetings would resume in person soon in Amersham and Chesham.
• The stop smoking service for adults provided free vaping devices, coils and e-liquids alongside behavioural support from practitioners.

For any further information contact Owain Johns, Service Coordinator, Live Well Stay Well, owain.johns@nhs.net

Rebecca Kineen from Public Health Bucks gave a presentation on Grow it, Cook it, Eat it, the slides are appended to these minutes.

• There were currently 4 community growing sites in Aylesbury, Chesham and High Wycombe located in areas with higher levels of depravation.

• The initiative featured a 5 week course teaching basic cookery skills to targeted groups including people who use food banks or suffer from food poverty.
• Tutors were allocated groups in the community they understand once they had completed a Train the Trainer course. There was no requirement for a professional cookery background and mental health and food hygiene training was provided. 
• Once the training was completed tutors were given a comprehensive cookery kit to cook in any community venue including schools or church halls.
• The initiative looked at reducing food waste, cooking on a budget and no cook recipes. Participants were introduced to growing sites and their details were provided to gardeners.
• At the end of the course on week 5 there was a celebratory session for participants to cook their own food or from the grow to give recipe cards. Participants would be given the opportunity to complete the food hygiene level 2 certificate and were provided with a goody bag to continue cooking at home. There would also be the chance to share recipes on the online community.
• The next training session would be held at the Bagnall Centre in Chesham. It was reiterated no previous experience was needed to become a tutor just an understanding of the local community. There were currently 10 volunteer cookery tutors and any suggestions for community venues were welcomed.

For any further information contact Shanelle Akintomide or Rebecca Kineen at shanelle.akintomide1@buckinghamshire.gov.uk or rebecca.kineen@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

The Chairman highlighted the cost of living crisis had affected some members of the community worse than others particularly the increasing cost of food. These initiatives were welcomed as it could be difficult to cook healthy on a budget.

The Chairman advised the Community Board would create an initiative around excess food in particular fruit and vegetables which would formalise the work of volunteer groups. The Board’s task and finish group would link allotments, local groups i.e. food banks and volunteers which would be open to suggestions from Board members.

Ms R Kineen advised work was being undertaken with Helping Hands and Hanna Tomlin from Buckinghamshire Council was the lead on food support. There had been an idea of an ice cream van style initiative which could deliver surplus fruit and vegetables to communities whilst advertising growing sites and training for heathy lifestyles. A Member suggested that supermarkets could be contacted to look at their surplus produce at the end of each day. Members involved in allotments were advised to get involved with this project.

Ms L Wright provided gave a presentation on other matters including making every contact council, Dementia Champions, Council updates and the support for Ukraine project, the slides are appended to these minutes.

The Chairman reiterated the Board would set up three task and finish groups with involvement from the members encouraged. The groups focused on cycle racks, speeding and community food support. Members were requested to contact the Community Board Co-ordinator if they were able to volunteer. 

A Member of the board thanked the Chairman, Vice Chairman and the Community Board Co-ordinator for their work and for making the meetings accessible for the community.