Project Description
The Healthy Eating Initiative
Healthy eating is a fundamental pillar of long-term physical and mental wellbeing, yet access to nutritious food, culturally appropriate guidance, and practical education is not equal across all communities. In areas of high deprivation and cultural diversity, these challenges can be amplified by economic pressures, limited food availability, time constraints, and deeply rooted cultural and religious practices around food.
In response to these challenges, Diversity House delivered a three-month Healthy Eating Initiative on behalf of Kent County Council, focused on supporting Black African, Asian and other Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities living in the Swale region. The programme was designed to better understand the specific barriers these communities face in adopting healthier eating habits, while providing practical, culturally sensitive education to support positive and sustainable behaviour change.
The initiative combined community-led research with hands-on intervention. Through cooking classes, nutrition seminars, tailored educational resources, and one-to-one engagement, participants were supported to increase their knowledge of healthy eating, improve confidence in home cooking, and make more informed dietary choices. Importantly, the programme recognised that healthy eating is not solely about information, but about capability, opportunity and motivation — addressing real-world constraints such as affordability, accessibility, time pressures, and cultural relevance.
Delivered in partnership with local authorities, health professionals, supermarkets, and community volunteers, the project placed collaboration and trust at its core. Feedback from participants highlighted strong engagement, high demand for continued support, and measurable improvements in dietary behaviours and health indicators. This project demonstrates how culturally informed, community-based interventions can play a meaningful role in reducing health inequalities and supporting long-term wellbeing within diverse populations.
Project Overview
The Healthy Eating Initiative was delivered over a three-month period and reached a broad and diverse audience across Swale, engaging participants from more than 14 countries and multiple ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. The programme combined twice-weekly cooking classes with nutritional health seminars, supported by culturally tailored educational materials developed alongside NHS and community health professionals.
Using a mixed-methods approach, the project gathered both quantitative and qualitative data through pre- and post-programme surveys, interviews, and health measurements. This allowed the team to assess changes in food consumption habits, frequency of home cooking, reliance on processed foods, and key health indicators such as weight. The findings showed clear positive shifts, including increased fruit and vegetable intake, reduced consumption of processed foods, greater confidence in cooking at home, and modest but meaningful average weight reduction among participants.
Beyond outcomes, the project also identified critical structural barriers to healthy eating within BAME communities, including food affordability, limited access to culturally appropriate ingredients, time constraints, and a lack of tailored dietary guidance. These insights directly informed a set of practical recommendations for future programmes, policy development, and community support initiatives.
Overall, the project demonstrates the value of culturally responsive, community-led health interventions. By combining research, education, and partnership working, the Healthy Eating Initiative provides a strong evidence base for scalable approaches that can support healthier lifestyles and reduce health inequalities across Kent and beyond.