London convenience stores given fruit and veg makeover

A Costcutter in Tower Hamlets, and 16 other convenience stores across London have been given an innovative fruit and veg 'make over' as part of the Buywell Project. The changes will mean more people can get their 5 A DAY and participating shops will see an increase in profits.
 
The Buywell Project is working with stores across London to increase the availability and affordability of fruit and vegetables in some of London's most deprived areas that have had poor access to healthy food. Each of the stores has been supported to improve their fruit and vegetable sales by improving quality, range, freshness and location and appointing a member of staff to champion fresh fruit and veg in store [1]. The stores are also benefiting from Change4Life branding to further promote fruit and vegetables to customers.  In a previous pilot of a similar scheme run by the Department of Health in the North East of England, sales of fruit and vegetables increased by an average of 40 per cent.

Salam Sheikh who runs another Costcutter in Tower Hamlets said: "Since making changes with the Buywell Project, I've sold more fruit and vegetables in one day than I usually do in a whole week."

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and Rosie Boycott, his appointed chair of the London Food Board, are working to boost access to fresh food in London through schemes such as this and Capital Growth, which aims to create 2012 new food growing plots in communities across London by 2,012.

Rosie Boycott, who attended the Buywell launch, said: "The patchy provision of good quality, affordable fresh fruit and veg can be a major problem for some Londoners. The Buywell project is excellent as it puts fresh fruit and veg directly into local shops where people want to do their day to day shopping and enthuses staff so they can be more knowledgeable about stocking healthier food.'

Hannah Williams, Buywell Project[2] Co-ordinator said: "We developed this project because local people told us they wanted their local shops to stock better quality, affordable, healthy food. People want to eat more healthily - the Buywell Project is helping by giving them the opportunity to buy what they need locally"

Esther Trenchard-Mabere, Associate Director of Public Health, NHS Tower Hamlets and joint Healthy Borough Programme lead Director, said: "Our Healthy Borough programme is supporting schemes like this because we want to make it easier for children and families to be able to buy healthy food locally. Children in Tower Hamlets have amongst the highest rates of obesity in the country and our long term aim is to help everyone to maintain a healthy weight throughout their lives. This will help to reduce the risk of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer."

The Buywell project is launching in 12 stores in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and 5 stores in other boroughs - Westminster, Hounslow, Lewisham, Lambeth and Hammersmith & Fulham [3].

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For more information please contact: Hannah Williams 0203 5596 777 / 07968 443971
 

Notes to editors

[1] Shops involved in the project have stocked a wider range of fruit and vegetables and display them prominently within their stores with Change4Life branding. In return, to the Buywell project team will work with each store and offer advice on maximising profits, minimising waste and displaying and promoting the new fresh produce to the local community.  Shops are stocking at least 10 varieties of fruit and veg to cater for london's diverse communities and allocating at least 1m of chilled space just for fresh fruit and veg. Change4Life branded point of sale materials were provided to the stores free of charge. Some shopkeepers also linked up with the NHS and local primary schools

[2] The Buywell Retail project is run by Rice Retail Marketing, with local partner Tower Hamlets Co-operative Development Agency and is being managed by London Food Link. It is jointly funded by The Tower Hamlets Healthy Borough Programme - a partnership between NHS Tower Hamlets, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the Tower Hamlets Partnership; the London Development Agency, as part of the Local Food Infrastructure programme; and the Big Lottery, as part of the Well London programme through London Sustainability Exchange and London Health Commission.

[3] If you would like more information about the other participating stores or to speak with the shop owners please contact Stephanie Rice on 07977019105.

[4] The aim of the launch is to build relationship with the store and local community. The main activity is to invite junior school children to the stores to officially launch the programme. The stores will have planned in advance to give away a free piece of fruit.

You can find more at:

• Tower Hamlets Healthy Borough Programme visit
  http://www.onetowerhamlets.gov.uk/
  http://www.towerhamlets.nhs.uk/
  http://www.london.gov.uk/welllondon/
• London Development Agency Local Food Infrastructure Programme
  http://www.foodforlondon.net/foodaccess/food_access/
• Well London, Buywell Project
  http://www.london.gov.uk/welllondon/
• Change 4 Life
  http://www.nhs.uk/change4life
• London Food Link
  http://www.londonfoodlink.org/