Lead An Active, Healthy & Fulfilling Life
Discover how to eat a balanced diet & move more to achieve a healthier lifestyle
Working Together To Create A Healthier Life
The Food Alliance is a member of the Blackburn with Darwen Eat Well Move More Strategic Partnership which brings together key people and organisations working with the shared purpose of getting everyone in the borough moving more, eating well and aiming for a healthy weight.
The Ambition of the partnership is as follows:
‘We will work together to provide the encouragement, opportunity & environment for everyone in Blackburn & Darwen to lead active, healthy & fulfilling lives.
Through collaboration & innovation across the whole system, we will work to build a fairer future supporting good health & wellbeing for everyone.’
If you wish to find out more, you can view and download a PDF (7MB) of the strategy below:
Want To Know More?
To find out more about the ongoing work in the Borough to promote a healthy diet whatever age you are, check out the information and resources located on the Public Health BeWellBwD website:
You May Also Like…
…The following websites and resources which contain useful information for Blackburn with Darwen residents:
Breast Feeding Friendly Borough
Blackburn with Darwen became a breastfeeding friendly borough in 2017 and our maternity/health visiting and children’s centres have been awarded a UNICEF GOLD Baby Friendly Accreditation.
Full details of the range of support that is being provided can be found via the link below along with links to find feeding friendly places when you’re out and about and information and courses
Website: bewellbwd.com/a-z-services/breastfeeding-friendly-borough
Children’s Oral Health
Sugar is the main cause of tooth decay in children and BwD, which has one of the highest rates of tooth decay in our five year olds in all of England, has committed to delivering a range of services to improve this situation.
You can find out more by visiting the BeWellBwD website here: bewellbwd.com/a-z-services/oral-health-start-well
The Oral Health Strategy, which focuses on adults as well, can be found via the link below (link opens in a new window as a PDF):
bewellbwd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Blackburn-with-Darwen-Oral-Health-Improvement-Partnership-Strategy-2021-2026-Web.pdf
Healthy Start
If you are more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4 you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk through the Healthy Start Scheme:
- Cow’s milk
- Fresh, frozen or tinned fruit & vegetables
- Infant formula milk based on cows milk
- Fresh, dried & tinned pulses
Details of the Healthy Start scheme can be found here on the NHS’s website: www.healthystart.nhs.uk
You can also get free Healthy Start vitamins, which can be collected from your local Children’s Centre. Find out more here:
bewellbwd.com/a-z-services/healthy-start
Healthy Weight Declaration
In 2017 Blackburn with Darwen Council signed the Health Weight declaration committing to promote healthy weight and improve the health and wellbeing of the local population.
The ways in which this will be achieved are set out in the healthy weight declaration which can be found here:
We have planted almost 10,000 trees!
Between 2023 and 2026, local communities, schools, landowners, environmental organisations and funding partners came together to deliver an extensive tree-planting programme across the Borough. New trees were planted in parks, open spaces, schools, highways and community sites to increase canopy cover, restore habitats and improve access to green spaces.
Alongside woodland creation and urban tree planting, community orchards and fruit tree schemes were established, creating opportunities for residents to grow and enjoy locally produced fruit while learning about food production, nutrition, biodiversity and environmental stewardship.
The programme has encouraged community participation through planting events, orchard projects and harvest activities, helping to strengthen connections between people, nature and local food systems. These initiatives support the Borough’s wider sustainability ambitions and the objectives of the Sustainable Food Places programme by linking environmental action, biodiversity recovery, food growing and community engagement.
This report summarises tree-planting activities delivered between 2023 and 2026 and demonstrates how investment in trees, woodlands, orchards and edible landscapes is helping to create a greener, healthier and more resilient Borough for future generations.
Find out more. Read our Progress Report PDF (31MB) below:
Grow Another Row Project
This simple but powerful idea encourages growers to share surplus produce, food that might otherwise go to waste. Across our allotments, excess fruit and vegetables are often composted, or in the case of apple and pear trees, left to fall and rot. At the same time, many families are struggling to access fresh, nutritious food.
Last year a pilot for this project on one plot on one allotment and in 3 hours managed to harvest 214kg of seasonal, locally produced, nutritionally dense food (that was 12 overflowing shopping trolleys full).
The Grow Another Row campaign brings these two realities together.
By collecting surplus produce that cannot be used by growers, we can redistribute it through local food banks and community food larders, getting fresh, local food onto the plates of those who need it most.
It’s a practical, community-led solution that reduces waste, supports residents, and celebrates the value of locally grown food
Learn how to grow your row. Read our PDF guide (32MB) below:
Working across all sectors to bring good, sustainably produced food to our community
Be In The Know
News about eating, cooking, growing & accessing food & help available in your area.
Get Involved
Help us to build a good food movement in our borough.
Community Gardens
Bringing people together to learn about growing food.
Reducing Food Waste
Saving food from your bin to help protect our planet.