The Health Kick and Louise Mercieca - Nutritional Therapist and Author,
Good Food Academy 14654648
I have been on this journey for 11+ years now. The health situation has got worse, the health and wealth divide has escalated and the current health predictions look bleak.
​
I've teamed up with my friend and amazing Early Years Consultant Lucy Lewin to co-launch a Social Enterprise - The Good Food Academy.
​
Our mission at Good Food Academy is based on reversing the prediction on life expectancy for a generation of children.
The current situation for many children and families in the UK today is one of food poverty and associated ill-health. We know that the need for food banks has increased by 123% in the last five years and this certainly looks set to continue rising but food banks cannot be the answer to this problem.
Whilst it is desperately sad and frustrating for us to think of people, particularly children going hungry there are much wider health, wealth and social implications at stake.
Within the UK today we have very real poverty and this brings with it health inequalities. Income is associated with health, whereas those in the bottom 40% of income distribution are twice as likely to report poor health than their counterparts in the top 20% of income distribution. Poverty (in particular persistent poverty) is associated with the very worst health outcomes and we have seen the statistics above of how many children are living in poverty in the UK today.
Health is about much more than the individuals’ personal health it is a reflection on society and indeed on the country itself. With this in mind we aim to take the Good Food Academy out to communities, not just within early years but to community food groups and into business as food really does impact on every element of our lives.
We cannot wait
for change, we need to be the change
%20(450%20%C3%97%2070%20px)%20(1920%20%C3%97%201080%20px)%20(1).png)
"Put simply, if health has stopped improving it is a sign that society has stopped improving. Evidence from around the world shows that health is a good measure of social and economic progress. When a society is flourishing health tends to flourish. When a society has large social and economic inequalities there are large inequalities in health. The health of the population is not just a matter of how well the health service is funded and functions, important as that is: health is closely linked to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age and inequities in power, money and resources – the social determinants of health.”
Source – The Marmot Review 10 years on – Health Equality in England
When we consider children living in poverty and the associated health issues, we are also potentially forecasting their future health outcomes, academic success work prospects and much, much more.
The scale of the problem is huge, beyond anything we can influence at the scale which is needed – we cannot influence Government nor the food industry (although we will keep lobbying). What we can do is influence our communities and that is what we aim to do with Good Food Academy
​
​
​
​
​
%20(450%20%C3%97%2070%20px)%20(1920%20%C3%97%201080%20px)%20(2).png)
Our Ambassadors
These awesome people all share our mission for all things to do with food, nutrition and the need for immediate change, they help us to spread the word (even though we are quite loud), many voices are stronger than two!
%20(450%20%C3%97%2070%20px)%20(1920%20%C3%97%201080%20px)%20(6).png)
"Over the past 10 years of teaching children how to grow their own I have seen the importance of what food means and the role it plays in their lives. The Good Food Academy is bringing further education to communities on this subject that will make a massive difference in the future of food, health and education"
Lee Connelly, The Skinny Jean Gardner
Blue Peter Gardner 2015-2018
Children’s and Family Gardening Presenter
CBBC & BBC Teach Presenter
Founder of Schools Gardening Success
​
​