Lewisham pupil's design for a poster promoting healthy eating has been unveiled across the borough
The poster, aimed at making vegetables appealing to children, was designed by Destiny Wacha, a pupil at St James Hatcham Primary School in New Cross. It was the winning entry of a borough-wide school competition.
How we have been working to tackle childhood obesity
Since 2016 we have been implementing a whole systems approach to respond to the challenge of childhood obesity in the borough. This includes:
- Sugar Smart Lewisham
- The Daily Mile.
The Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme
Earlier this year, we were chosen as one of five local authorities to be part of the Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme (COTP). We were awarded £100,000 worth of funding and project support per year for three years to promote reducing childhood obesity, working with Out-of-Home companies to promote healthy eating through advertising campaigns. This work is being supported through a unique partnership with outdoor advertising companies, JCDecaux and Outsmart.
An ‘innovative approach’
Councillor Chris Best, Deputy Mayor of Lewisham and Cllr Chris Barnham, Cabinet Member for School Performance, joined Destiny and representatives from JCDecaux and Outsmart to reveal her winning design work which has been turned into a high-profile advert.
Councillor Best said: 'It’s fantastic to see the start of this innovative approach to supporting the council’s commitment to tackling childhood obesity. With nearly one in five children obese or overweight when they start reception, it is vital that we do everything we can to tackle obesity and its inherent health inequalities.
'I want to thank Destiny for her design – it’s great to see the talent of young people helping to promote this important message. We’re also grateful that leading advertisers JCDecaux and Outsmart are supporting our work to help residents make positive choices that will impact on child obesity rates.'
Andrew Jordan, Partnership Director from JCDecaux UK, said: 'JCDecaux UK is delighted to support this important initiative, using our digital Out-of-Home bus shelter network to reach people out and about in Lewisham. This is a wonderful creative, from a talented young artist and we look forward to seeing it displayed across the borough from today.'
Tim Lumb, Director of Outsmart, said: 'Outsmart is proud to be a part of this. As a public broadcast medium Out-of-Home advertising is a powerful tool to promote community messaging that positively shapes behaviours and helps reduce child obesity rates.'