Nutrition Evaluation

Nutrition Evaluation

This section of the website provides access to evaluations which have been undertaken with a focus on nutrition.

Food and Wellbeing: Reducing Inequalities through a Nutrition Strategy for Wales

The Review was carried out in 2006 for the Food Standards Agency Wales by a team from the Universities of Warwick, Cardiff, Durham and City. The review focuses on the following questions:

  • To what extent has the Food and Well Being action plan been implemented?
  • Have the methods and approaches to delivery advocated through the action plan been effective?
  • Has there been an impact on understanding and uptake of healthy balanced diet in Wales?

Download the Food and Wellbeing Review.

Evaluation of Free School Breakfasts Initiative

The Welsh Assembly Government has commissioned the Cardiff Institute of Society, health and Ethics (CISHE) to evaluate the Welsh Assembly Government’s free school breakfast initiative.

Download the evaluation report .

Evaluation of the Community Food Co-operative Programme in Wales

The programme aims to increase access to, and consumption of, fresh fruit and vegetables among people in Wales and to support local producers in rural and urban Wales.
It is supported by the Rural Regeneration Unit and funded by the Welsh Government. Using a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches, the evaluation examined take-up and consumption, the effectiveness of the delivery model and the impact of the programme on participants, volunteers, suppliers and the wider community.
Download the evaluation report

Evaluation of the ‘Get Cooking’ Pilot Course held in the Rhondda Area

The Food Standards Agency Wales published an evaluation of a pilot of ‘Get Cooking’ courses run for young people in four different locations in the Rhondda area. The courses ran between 2002 and 2003. To read the evaluation report click on www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/wal011reportenglish.pdf.

Evaluation of ‘Catering for Health’

‘Catering for Health’ was a resource developed to fill the training gap in healthier catering practices. Food Standards Agency Wales published an evaluation of the resource in 2003 which provides an insight into its usage and its impact upon chef lecturers in Wales. To read the report click on www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/wal013reportenglish.pdf.

The development and evaluation of a novel school-based intervention to increase fruit and vegetable intake in children

The research project aimed to develop and evaluate a whole school approach to increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in children aged 5-11 years. The project took place between 1999 and 2001. To find out more click on the development and evaluation of a novel school-based intervention to increase fruit and vegetable intake in children.

Are fruit tuck shops in primary schools effective in increasing pupils’ fruit consumption? A randomised controlled trial

This research aimed to identify the feasibility of setting up fruit tuck shops in primary schools, and to identify the impact of such tuck shops on pupils’ consumption of fruit and other snacks. To read the report visit the CISHE website.

Further Evaluation of The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme in England

The Department of Health (DH) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), in partnership with nutritionists at the University of Leeds, to carry out a follow-up evaluation of the impact of the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS).  The aim was to investigate the longer-term impact of the scheme following its implementation in 2004. The evaluation was carried out in 37 schools in North East England. For more information click on the Department of Health website .

Evaluation of Breastfeeding Support Grant Scheme

The Breastfeeding Support Grant Scheme was set up by the Welsh Assembly
Government to support, develop and train breastfeeding peer support groups and other supportive mechanisms in settings such as schools or community venues and targeting social disadvantage. The effectiveness of the grant scheme has been evaluated by North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (NEWI) from the perspective of the grant holders, service users and other stakeholders using a case study approach.

Download the evaluation report.

Evaluation of the Cooking Bus in Wales

Commissioned and funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, the Cooking Bus in Wales was launched in 2006, as part of the Food and Fitness Implementation Plan. Cooking Buses are a key component of the Design Dimension Educational Trust. Focus on Food campaign which aims to increase the profile and status of food education in schools. Three key ‘threads’ are addressed by all Cooking Buses and their component sessions, namely basic cooking skills, healthy eating and food hygiene. An evaluation of the Cooking Bus has been undertaken by CISHE, with Glyndwr University and Swansea University.

Download: Evaluation of the Cooking Bus in Wales: FINAL REPORT

Evaluation of packed lunch guidance for parents and primary schools

Appetite for Life proposes that schools should be encouraged to influence, assist and guide pupils and parents in the preparation and provision of nutritious packed lunches and other food brought into school. It is the purpose of this project to assess the impact and success of this advice using mixed methods including an audit of lunch box contents, interviews with parents and school staff and focus groups with primary school children across Wales. For more information please contact Samia Addis at [email protected].

National Public Health Service (NPHS) Quality Improvement Toolkit for Oral Nutritional Support (Sip Feeds)

The NPHS Primary Care Quality and Information Service have developed a Quality Improvement Toolkit for Oral Nutritional Supplements.

This audit toolkit provides guidance around
• Primary care identifying malnutrition and those at risk of malnutrition and managing them appropriately
• The appropriate and cost effective prescription of sip feeds.

With an audit tool to evaluate effectiveness.

Download the  toolkit.

Evaluation of the Rhondda Cynon Taf Healthy Living Network

As part of the Big Lottery Fund, Healthy Living Centres Programme of Funding which was launched in 1999, to promote health in its broadest sense in the most disadvantaged sectors of the population, a cross-sector partnership of organisations in Rhondda Cynon Taff developed a Healthy Living Network (HLN).

The purpose of the Healthy Living Network is to help local communities identify their own health needs, and to subsequently build capacity to address these. Wherever possible the focus is to enable and support volunteers to deliver health initiatives such as basic cooking classes and local walking groups.

An evaluation has been completed utilising a qualitative approach in order to assess the extent to which objectives were met; to examine the way that the Network and its partnership operated; and assess the impacts on individuals, communities and organisations. It was not designed to measure health outcomes. The methodology of the evaluation included documentary analysis, observation and semi-structured in-depth individual or group interviews.

It concludes that the approach of the Network and its Team was considered to be one of the most important factors in the success of the Project. Lessons learnt included the significance of communicating with members of the Partnership Board to ensure they have a clear understanding of the project, noting the significance of communication and partnership working to a successful health initiative.

Visit the Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Public Health Team webpage to download the evaluation report .

An evaluation of The All-Wales Dietetic Capacity Grant Scheme

The first two years of the programme have being evaluated by Glyndwr University Wrexham. The programme has demonstrated increased support for communities in healthy eating by incorporating nutrition into the work of other professionals working with priority groups in the community.

Executive Summary 
 Full Report (English) 

Health and Well Being at the Neath Food Festival

An  evaluation of the role and impact of health and well being activities at the 2010 Neath Food Festival

This evaluation considers why people attended the 2010 Neath Food Festival, whether the presence of health and well being activities helped attract them, and what impact the health and wellbeing activities had on people who participated in any of them.