Sowing the seeds

Healthy eating for a captive market

Team left to right-Chris Kemp (Prison Officer)
Sara Robertson (Team Leader) Neil Quinn (Unit
Manager) Douglas Ross (Prison Officer)

HMP Addiewell in West Lothian has become the first prison to achieve the healthyliving award plus, and what’s more, for both their prisoner and staff canteens.

We spoke to Neil Quinn, Catering Manager for Sodexo Justice Services at the prison, to find out how the healthier options have been received by the prisoners.

Neil explained: “Since arriving at HMP Addiewell in September 2009, my goal as Catering Manager was to fulfil the dietary requirements of prisoners by offering a diet suitable for the Scottish prison palate, but also to encompass an option to eat healthily.

 “While some establishments offer only minimal choices, I decided to double the choices that would be available at Addiewell, so that prisoners would have more than one meal to choose from if they wanted to eat healthily. As a result, we introduced five choices at lunch and six at dinner.

“Having seen the healthyliving award at other prisons we decided that it would be a good benchmark for us, carrying a recognised and respected logo.

“The changes went down a treat with the ever growing population at Addiewell. The food was one of the most talked about topics on the landings, and the comments were almost entirely positive.

“I would also say we’ve seen an increase in the uptake of purposeful activity and an improvement in behaviour among the prisoners since introducing the healthier menus.

“Although our budgets are very tight, we’ve been able to make savings by changing brands where possible, and when buying in bulk these savings can add up. This has allowed us to purchase healthier ingredients such as unsaturated vegetable oils and wholemeal bread.

“Having held the award for two years, and always eager to up my game, the healthyliving award plus was an obvious progression for me and the team. We found we were already meeting most of the plus criteria anyway, so it meant minimal extra work.

“The feedback received from the new menu changes for the plus award has also been very positive. We hold consultative forums on a weekly basis and again, feedback from these has been good, with prisoners even putting forward suggestions for healthier variations to some of the dishes on the menu.”

Although crime may not pay, serving healthier food to those serving time has certainly paid off for Neil and his team.

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issue twenty-four:
November 2012
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The healthyliving awardNHS Health Scotland - Scotland's health improvement agencyHealthier Scotland - Scottish GovernmentHealthier Scotland - Scottish Government