Brighton student develops blueprint to help local schools tackle children's healthy eating

A university student has developed practical new guidance for the Lewes District Food Partnership to help primary schools build healthier eating habits through simple, low-cost changes across the school day. 

Created by MSc Health Promotion student and Registered Associate Nutritionist Jo Pulling during a placement with the Lewes District Food Partnership, the blueprint translates the latest nutrition and public health research into practical recommendations that schools can implement using existing resources. 

While schools play a vital role in shaping children's eating habits, teachers are already working within busy school environments and facing increasing pressures on their time and resources. Jo's guidance is designed to support, rather than add to, the work teachers are already doing, offering practical ways to encourage healthy eating through existing lessons, routines and activities without placing additional demands on school budgets or staff. 

Rather than focusing solely on school meals, Jo's recommendations encourage schools to build on opportunities that already exist across the school day. They include weaving food education into subjects such as maths, science and geography, helping teachers talk about food in positive, non-judgemental ways, creating more opportunities for children to try new foods with their peers, and building stronger links with families and local food organisations. The aim is not to add another responsibility for teachers, but to provide simple ideas and resources that can complement what schools are already doing. 

The project formed part of Jo's MSc Health Promotion placement at the University of Brighton, where she worked with the Lewes District Food Partnership to explore how schools could create healthier food environments. Drawing on the latest nutrition and public health research, she developed practical recommendations to help improve food literacy, tackle health inequalities and support children's long-term wellbeing. 

Jo said: "When we talk about healthy eating, people often think about school dinners, but children learn about food in so many different ways. Every classroom conversation, every positive food experience and every opportunity to try something new helps shape their relationship with food. 

"I wanted to create something that schools could realistically use. Many teachers are incredibly passionate about supporting children's health but they're already under huge pressure. My aim was to bring together the latest evidence into practical ideas that are affordable, easy to implement and can make healthy eating feel like a normal part of everyday school life." 

The Lewes District Food Partnership works with local organisations, schools, businesses and communities to build a fairer, healthier and more sustainable food system across the district. The Partnership commissioned the project to explore how schools could better embed healthy eating into everyday life and now plans to use Jo's recommendations to help inform future work with primary schools across the district. 

Hilary Schan, Coordinator of the Lewes District Food Partnership, said: "We're delighted to have worked with Jo on this project. Supporting children to develop positive relationships with food from an early age is essential for their health, wellbeing and future opportunities, but we know schools are facing increasing demands on their time and resources. Jo's work has brought together the latest evidence in a way that is practical, accessible and achievable for schools. The recommendations recognise that healthy eating is shaped by the whole school environment, not just what's on the lunch menu, and provide realistic ways to weave food education and positive food experiences into everyday school life.." 

Jo returned to university to study Health Promotion after completing an undergraduate degree in Nutrition, with the ambition of working more closely with communities to tackle health inequalities and improve access to nutrition support. 

Jo is also putting her community health ambitions into practice as a founding member of the Community Health Collective, a new Community Interest Company in Seaford working through the Seaford Living Rooms initiative. 

The Collective aims to make preventative health and wellbeing support more accessible and affordable, bringing together practitioners working across areas including nutrition, lifestyle medicine, yoga and osteopathy. Jo is developing the nutrition side of the initiative, helping to provide practical advice for people who might otherwise be unable to afford private nutritional support. 

Following graduation, Jo hopes to continue working with the Lewes District Food Partnership while developing her own community nutrition initiatives with support from the University of Brighton's Student Enterprise Team and the NatWest Accelerator.