Campaigns
The Public Health Nutrition Team at NHS Forth Valley, support a number of national and local campaigns throughout the year.
Find out more below.
5 Family Payments – Social Security Scotland
Social Security Scotland have 5 payments for families who live in Scotland and who get tax credits or certain benefits to help balance the costs of looking after young children.
- Best Start Foods – a prepaid card to buy food for your kids under 3 years.
- Best Start Grant (Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment) are one-off payments at key stages during your child’s early years.
- Scottish Child Payment – £100 every 4 weeks for children under 16 years.
- Family Benefits Factsheet – Social Security Scotland
Call Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222. It’s free and confidential. Like Social Security Scotland on Facebook and follow on Twitter @SocSecScot.
Challenge Poverty Week – October
Challenge Poverty Week is designed to highlight that poverty is a problem we can solve, and provides an opportunity to showcase solutions we can all get behind.
Like ‘The Poverty Alliance’ on Facebook and follow @CPW_Scotland and @PovertyAlliance on Twitter and join the conversation with #ChallengePoverty #NowIsTheTime
Food Waste Action Week
WRAP & Love Food Hate Waste dedicate a week of action to raising awareness of the environmental consequences of wasting food, and promoting activities that help reduce the amount of food wasted.
- Visit Greener Scotland to find out more on how you can tackle food waste.
- This handy Recipe Finder from Love Food, Hate Waste las lots of inspiration on how to use up your leftovers.
- For more information about safely reheating leftovers, and other Food Safety tips visit Food Standards Scotland.
Like ‘Love Food Hate Waste – Community’ and follow @LFHW_UK on Twitter and join the conversation with #FoodWasteActionWeek and #ZeroWasteWeek
Healthy Eating Week
Each year the British Nutrition Foundation run a healthy eating week– they produce a range of excellent resources around different nutrition themes – posters, activity packs, tracker charts, videos and more to give out clear and consistent healthy eating information and messages.
Follow @BNFEvents and @FoodAFactOfLife on Twitter and join the conversation with #HealthyEatingWeek and join the conversation with #BNFHEW or #BNFHEW21
Meat Free Monday
Meat Free Monday is a great initiative to encourage people to have a healthier diet, save animals and the planet for at least once a week.
- Use their Impact Calculator that can calculate the positive difference you can make by eating less meat and dairy foods.
- Meat Free Recipes
Follow Meat Free Monday on Facebook and @MeatFreeMonday on Twitter and Meat Free Monday on Instagram.
Engage in the conversation using #MeatFreeMonday.
One Blue Dot and Sustainable September Campaign
One Blue Dot is the British Dietetic Association’s Environmentally Sustainable Diet Project, created to help make Sustainable Diets Policy a reality. They have a toolkit of information, graphics, tools and links to help you improve your understanding of environmentally sustainable diets.
They British Dietetic Association also run an annual Sustainable September campaign with a month of activities to help dietitians live and work more sustainably.
Follow @BDA_Sustainable and @BDA_dietitians on Twitter and @bda_sustainablediets on Instagram. #OneBlueDot
Peas Please
Peas Please aims to make it easier for everyone in the UK to eat more vegetables. Bringing together farmers, retailers, and restaurant chains, caterers, processors and government departments with a common goal of making it easier for everyone to eat more vegetables.
Like ‘PeasPlease VA’ on Facebook and follow @PeasPleaseUK on Twitter and join the conversation with #PeasPlease
Salt Awareness Week
14th – 21st May 2023 – Ditch the Salt!
Get tips on how to reduce your salt intake and cook healthier meals. They have a range of free downloadable resources – including posters, recipes, factsheets and podcasts.
Follow on Twitter @WASHSALT or join the conversation with #SaltAwarenessWeek.
- Sprinkle Less… Taste More – Leaflet (NHS Forth Valley)
- Salt – Food Factsheet (British Dietetic Association)
- Salt – The Facts (NHS)
- Low Salt Shopping Guide
- Low Salt Recipes and a range of Low Salt Cookbooks (World Action on Salt & Health)
Download the Foodswitch App, it’s free. Download it and start scanning the barcodes as you shop; it can help you make healthier choices when shopping for you and your family.
Simply Veg
Veg Power have created Simply Veg. The mission of Simply Veg is to make it as easy as possible to navigate the cost-of-living crisis by serving affordable as well as sustainable and healthy veg-packed meals that families will love. Simply Veg is packed full of tips, hacks, advice and giveaways to make it as easy as possible for you to serve affordable veg-packed meals that your family will love.
Sugar Awareness Week
Each year Action on Sugar organise a national Sugar Awareness Week to help raise awareness of the damaging effect of too much sugars in our diet.
Sugary drinks are one of largest contributors to global sugar intake. Too much sugar in our diets is linked to weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dental caries / tooth decay. During the campaign, they will be aiming to raise awareness of the harmful effects of sugary drinks.
Follow on Twitter @WASHSALT or join the conversation with #SugarAwarenessWeek
Sustainable Food Places
The Sustainable Food Places Network is facilitated by Food Matters, Soil Association and Sustain helping people and places take a holistic approach to food.
Sustainable Food Place support a number of UK wide campaigns including Veg Cities, Peas Please, Sugar Smart, Food Power, Sustainable Fish Cities.
They also have a list of Other UK Campaigns that offer support and resources.
Follow on Twitter @FoodPlacesUK, @UKSustain, @SoilAssociation, @FoodMatters_org, @VegCities, @PeasPleaseUK, @SugarSmartUK, @FishCities, @FoodPoverty_UK and join the conversation with #SustainableFood, #SustainableEating, #PeasPlease…
UK Malnutrition Awareness Week
Malnutrition Task Force (MTF) and BAPEN aim to raise awareness and understanding of the risks of preventable malnutrition across different sectors and settings, in local communities and with the general public and health and social care professionals. As part of this year’s campaign, they want everybody to ask, look and listen for the signs of malnutrition in the older people we love or care for..
Like BAPEN on Facebook and follow @BAPENUK on Twitter and join the conversation with #UKMAW2021 and #MAW2021
Visit the Nutrition For All – Nutrition in Older People page for further information, resources and support on Malnutrition.
Veg Power
Eat Them To Defeat Them is a campaign from ITV and Veg Power to encourage kids to eat more vegetables. 80% of our kids are not eating enough vegetables. Veg Power is on a mission to inspire kids from early years through primary school and into their teens to veggie loving habits they will keep for life.
Visit Veg Power for tips and blogs on how to get your kids more creative with cooking and eating vegetables, seasonal vegetable recipes and free downloadable resources – posters, charts and activity sheets.
Follow on Twitter @VegPowerUK and join the conversation with #VegPower
World Breastfeeding Week
World Breastfeeding Week takes place for the first seven days of August each year. The purpose of World Breastfeeding Week is to inform people about the importance of breastfeeding and highlight the huge benefits that breastfeeding can bring to both the health and welfare of babies, as well as, a wider push for maternal health, focusing on good nutrition, poverty reduction and food security. Breastfeeding is also, one of the best ways to protect both our planet’s ecosystems and our health.
Like ‘WABA World Breastfeeding Week’ on Facebook and follow @WHO_Europe on Twitter and join the conversation with #WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Visit the Nutrition For All – Infant Feeding page for further information and support on Breastfeeding.