Nursery World - Working with parents: What's in-store

Davina Belcher and Laura Morton – who both work for the Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP) – report on a local project which encourages families to engage with affordable, healthy eating. By becoming a member of a local ‘pantry’, increasing numbers of parents are coming together to share information and access a range of benefits.

'It's great to work with parents who know their community so well,' says Helen Wiggins (right), Community Programmes manager at the Healthy Living Platform.

In Lambeth, parents can buy fruit, vegetables and store cupboard staples in specially designated ‘pantries’ in community and children’s centres for a nominal sum. The initiative comes from a health and wellbeing-focused charity called Healthy Living Platform, which aims to promote affordable healthy food in children’s centre communities. It also aims to provide training and leadership opportunities for parents, who volunteer at the pantries and are part of collaborative-working groups for their closest children’s centres.

Julia Escobar is mum to Benjamin and volunteers at the pantry. She said: ‘It feels good to do something nice for others. I feel useful. I’m doing something different from being a mother, or wife.’

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included