Government supports mapping tool for access to fresh food – UKTN

The Queen of Greens initiative, which provides affordable fruit and vegetables to low-income areas in Liverpool and Knowsley, has been granted government funding to develop an advanced mapping tool.

The tool would allow for targeted routing to ensure the initiative reaches residents in social housing who often find it difficult to access healthy food options locally.

A report from food manufacturing giant Kellogg’s found that in the UK, over a million people are estimated to live in ‘food deserts’, areas in which residents cannot access shops with fresh produce within 15 minutes.

The new project, supporting communities in social housing and optimising urban food system interventions for equity (SCHOUSE), is being led by the University of Liverpool.

“We are very much looking forward to working on this new research project with all the team assembled by the University of Liverpool,” said Lucy Antal, director of Alchemic Kitchen CIC which runs the Queen of Greens.

“It will be a great opportunity to trial an expansion into supporting social housing tenants to access fresh produce, and to have the health and social impact of this intervention measured and assessed.

“The Queen of Greens is for everyone, and the data produced will help support our future activity.”

The project is one of a handful of food equality measures set to launch across the UK, backed by £8.5m of funding. Other projects include state-subsidised restaurants in Dundee and Nottingham, expanded community food markets in Glasgow and improvements made to the nutritional content of free school meals.

“No one in this country should be left unable to access the healthy food they need – which is why interventions like the Queen of Greens are so important – and measuring their impact is so vital,” Tech Secretary Peter Kyle added.

“These projects will draw on the power of research to actively explore the best ways to get healthy food into the mouths of those who need it, potentially having a transformational effect on people’s lives.”

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