Canterbury Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative

Transcription

1 Canterbury Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative Written Project Submission for the 2015 Canterbury District Health Board Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards Community and Public Health, Canterbury District Health Board

2 Project Information Sheet Project title Canterbury Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative Name and address of service/department/organisation Community and Public Health, Canterbury District Health Board, 310 Manchester Street Contact Person Name Job Title Kerry Marshall Public Health Manager Address: Telephone: Word Count (limit 3000) Which category do you think best fits your project? Improved quality, safety and experience of care Improved health and equity for all populations Best value for public health system resources X

3 Abstract The Canterbury Fruit and Vegetable Co-op is increasing the quantity and variety of fruit and vegetables consumed among participating families by providing low cost fresh fruit and vegetables. A review of the Co-op showed it is helping people save money, eat healthier, and connect with others in their community. The Co-op is helping get healthy, fresh and nutritious food to those who need it most, with over 60 per cent of Co-op members living in Christchurch s most deprived areas. Almost 75 percent of those surveyed said they now ate more fruit and vegetables since they began using the Co-op. The Co-op does more than simply increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables. It also creates a sense of community and brings people together. One in five of those surveyed volunteer for the Co-op, and by doing so they are meeting new people, sharing stories, and improving their wellbeing. The project began in September 2011 in the Eastern suburbs of Christchurch, which was the area most severely affected by earthquakes. One distribution hub was set up and 86 members joined. Two weeks later the second hub was started. Since then around 3000 packs of fruit and vegetables are ordered each week, with the number of distribution hubs growing to 40. The Co-op started as a partnership with the Anglican Healthy Eating Trust and has developed over time into a network of partnerships with the Healthy Eating Trust and CDHB at the heart of the network. Healthy Eating Trust provides vegetable buying expertise, the communities provide the volunteer packers and distributors. Community and Public Health provides community networks, recipes, health information and community support.

4 Introduction and Background The Fruit and Vegetable Co-op enable families and whānau to buy affordable seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables. It is a partnership between Healthy Eating Trust, several community groups, and Community and Public Health (a division of the CDHB). Participants pay just $12 for each pack - 1 bag of fruit and 1 bag of vegetables. People pay one week in advance with the buyer using the funds to purchase the produce at the wholesale market. The produce is then divided and packed into bags by volunteers. Each pack includes a recipe idea on how to use the fruit or vegetables in the pack, and some health information. For $12 participants get approximately $25-$30 worth of produce at retail prices. The project began in September 2011 in the Eastern suburbs of Christchurch, which was the area most severely affected by earthquakes. The Co-op focus has is providing low cost healthy produce to areas where food security can be a significant problem. Each $12 pack includes a card with a recipe (utilising one or more items of produce contained in the pack) on one side and health information (e.g. healthy eating, smoking cessation, how to stay warm in winter) on the other side. As well as providing affordable fruit and vegetables and health promotion resources, the project has also helped increase community connectedness as it relies on a network of volunteers. This is important as traditional community bonds have become fractured post-quake as people move to new places to live. This has the potential to create social isolation. The fruit and vege coop strengthens community bonds through fostering volunteerism and community empowerment.

5 Planning and Implementation The challenge of providing affordable fruit and vegetables to low income New Zealanders is significant but the fruit and vege coop has achieved it. The solution builds on the combined expertise of three partners the Healthy Eating Trust s purchasing expertise, the communities existing networks and facilities, and the District Health Board s health promotion and community development expertise. The partnership has achieved an amazing outcome for the community. The fruit and vege coop tackles the issue of food security in a way which benefits all parties. The benefit is so substantial that the recipients of the produce use their own money, paid up front rather than relying on the provision of additional resources by a third party. The model is not complicated but requires a high degree of community involvement, and trust, for it to succeed. It builds upon the community s strength and assets to deliver real, tangible and intangible, benefits As the coop has expanded the logistics of the operation have become more complicated. The project began in September 2011 in the Eastern suburbs of Christchurch, which was the area most severely affected by earthquakes. One distribution hub was set up and 86 members joined. Two weeks later the second hub was started. Since then approx packs of fruit and vegetables are ordered each week, with the number of distribution hubs where people collect their bags growing to 40. The coop has become self-sustaining. As it has grown the involvement of the DHB has been able to step back as communities take more and more ownership. While the CDHB was very initially very involved in getting hubs up and running and promoting the coop, from the beginning of 2015 the DHB s role is now more focused on providing nutrition information (including recipes) and health promotion information inside the bags. Empowering communities to take ownership and control of issues they themselves have established is a key aim of successful health promotion i. The co-op supports Canterbury DHB's commitment to supporting people to stay well in the community, and enabling people to be healthier and take greater responsibility for their own health New Zealand is experiencing an increase in conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These are risks that can be avoided and even prevented through a supportive environment where people are helped to make healthy choices. By increasing awareness and encouraging people to take personal responsibility for their health and wellbeing, we can help our communities have a better quality of life and delay, or even avoid, the impact of debilitating long-term conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The fruit and vege coop model is built up the strength of the local community. The communities themselves are responsible for the packing of vegetables and fruits, which arrive in crates and leave evenly distributed in plastic bags by volunteers. The individual community groups (for instance churches or schools) are also responsible for the collection of money and the distribution of the bags to those who paid the week before. These activities would be impossible for one or many government agencies to achieve as they are built upon the strengths and assets of communities, whom themselves are the experts. The community s involvement provides a platform for the dissemination of health information.

6 Results and Findings The Co-op is helping get healthy, fresh and nutritious food to those who need it most. The Co-op does more than simply increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables. It also creates a sense of community and brings people together. Approximately 3000 Cantabrian s directly benefit from the fruit and vege coop each week. These recipients also receive health promotion information - the majority of respondents (85.1%) read the health information on the back of the recipe card often or sometimes. This information has the potential to benefit recipients in a wide variety of ways (eg providing smoking cessation information, or information of diabetes checks). One in five of those surveyed volunteer for the Co-op, and by doing so they are meeting new people, sharing stories, and improving their wellbeing. The fact a quarter of people say they enjoy living in their neighbourhood more than before they began using the Co-op speaks volumes for its social benefit Over 60 per cent of Co-op members live in Christchurch s most deprived areas. Those providing money a week in advance for fruit and veges are in many cases giving up a considerable part of their disposable income. This money is collected by the communities themselves and provided to the fruit and vege buyer. It is a high trust, transparent model which continues to deliver great outcomes for some of our most vulnerable. The coop shows that difficult issues such as lack of food security and poor nutrition can actually be solved by working with communities in a high trust, mutually beneficial way. Providing a great value for money product has opened the door to health promotion activities and also resulted in increased community connectedness. Without the goodwill and commitment of the community the coop model would fail.

7 The model, which requires relatively small levels of resourcing, has been the subject of much interest from other parts of New Zealand, including Cannons Creek in Wellington who have investigated setting up their own co-op. Through active community involvement this cross-organisational collaboration provides greater access to fresh produce at a low price to members, some of whom may otherwise struggle to afford fruit and vegetables, or to know what to do with them or why eating them is important. As a result, members report an increase in the quantity and variety of fruit and vegetables consumed. The Co-op has increased opportunities for volunteering and social interaction, and for CPH to distribute healthy cooking and general health information more widely. This positive community-focused model has the potential to further enhance wellbeing and food security in areas of high need. The quotes below from recipients show the types of results this joint initiative has resulted in: It is fantastic I am able to afford good healthy food and have more money to spend on quality food rather than cheap and nasty. Without the Co-op I would not have fruit or veges. I love the Co-op. I always look forward to Wednesday fresh fruit and vege day. I can make much better meals now. I share around my neighbours what we cannot use or don't especially like ourselves. Everyone is happy. A wonderful concept. Thank you to all the volunteers - for a sterling job.

8 Conclusions and Future Direction The results of the fruit and vege coop are outstanding. As well as providing healthy food and nutrition advice to those who need it most, the coop is helping to build communities and social cohesion. The Co-op provides an opportunity for people to meet, interact and share with others as part of a positive community focused project. The fruit and vege coop is focused on providing services where the people are. It provides a convenient local setting for social interaction and access to healthy food. The social, positive, convenient and accessible nature of the Co-op could be some of the reasons why one quarter of respondents reported that they enjoyed living in their neighbourhood more than before. A hallmark of successful health promotion is empowering communities to take ownership of the creation and delivery of solutions which promote health. As it has grown the coop has become more and more self-sustaining. This has allowed the CDHB to step back as communities take more and more ownership. From the beginning of 2015 the DHB s role is now more focused on providing nutrition information (including recipes) and health promotion information inside the bags.

9 References i World Health Organization, th Global Conference on Health Promotion.