With a new year upon us, the healthyliving award team is looking forward to a busy 12 months ahead. Interest in the award continues to grow, and you can read about one of our more unusual award holders in this edition of coretalk.

The award is currently being evaluated to ensure we are working effectively with the food service sector. If you have been invited to participate in this evaluation, please take the opportunity to do so – your views are important to us.

Keep up to date with our other work in the What’s cooking? section of coretalk, or log on to our website for regular updates in our On the Boil and Features sections. Our website also helps keep you up to date with our latest award holders, so be sure to log on regularly at www.healthylivingaward.co.uk.

What’s cooking?

Caterers set to go for Gold

The number of catering establishments across Scotland achieving the healthyliving award continues to grow at a rapid pace.

Celtic Football Club’s training facility at Lennoxtown became the 400th award winner, and contract caterers ISS Eaton at O2 Skypark in Glasgow picked up the 450th award a couple of months later.

Caterers are also flocking to sign up and start working towards the award, with over 1000 businesses and organisations now registered.

Meanwhile, award holders are getting set to go for “gold”, as a higher level of healthyliving award is currently under development.

Caterers will be expected to hold the standard award for a minimum of two years, showing a genuine commitment to healthy eating, before becoming eligible for the higher level.

A number of establishments are currently piloting the higher level award.  Following completion of the pilot phase, it will be an option for sites when their award comes up for renewal. The higher level is expected be launched from April 2009.

This is all good news for the award, which has now been running for over two years and is becoming well established across Scotland.

To measure the impact of the award, and to ensure that it is effective in promoting healthy eating, a full independent evaluation is currently taking place.

An independent research company, Scott Porter Research and Marketing Ltd, have been commissioned to carry out this evaluation, and the agency is examining the impact that the award is having on the provision and uptake of healthier food choices.

The researchers have been speaking to businesses that have registered an interest in the healthyliving award, including those that have gone on to achieve the award, those that are currently working towards it and also those that are no longer involved.

Caterers and customers, as well as stakeholders and assessors, were offered this opportunity to comment on their experiences, and the findings will help to influence the future direction of the award.

We would like to thank all those who have participated in the evaluation research and who have taken the time to have their say.

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Food Service Sector
Involved in the food service sector and would like to know more? Click here
Customers
Do you sometimes want to eat healthily when eating out? Click here
issue nine: February 2009
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The healthyliving awardNHS Health Scotland - Scotland's health improvement agencyHealthier Scotland - Scottish GovernmentHealthier Scotland - Scottish Government