Healthy Eating
Making healthier choices easier, for every stage of life
The Healthy Eating theme focuses on creating environments where good food is the easy, affordable and normal choice for people of all ages. Through school food programmes, community cooking initiatives, nutrition support and public health campaigns, partners are helping residents build lifelong healthy habits while reducing health inequalities. By improving food environments, supporting families and promoting practical skills, this work is helping embed healthier choices into everyday life across South Tyneside.
Breastfeeding Support & Breastfeeding Friendly Venues
Supporting parents and babies with confidence, dignity and community care.
South Tyneside has achieved UNICEF Baby Friendly accreditation, reflecting significant improvements in breastfeeding rates and early life nutrition. Local public health teams and partners have championed breastfeeding as a key foundation for lifelong health, helping more parents feel confident to feed their babies and access support when they need it.
Building on this work, the Breastfeeding Friendly Venue scheme launched in 2024, with cafés, leisure centres, Family Hubs and community spaces signing up to show they welcome and support breastfeeding families. This visible commitment helps parents feel comfortable feeding in public spaces without hesitation, knowing they are respected and supported.
The borough also celebrates events like World Breastfeeding Week, where families gather for activities and peer support, combining nutrition information with social connection. By linking practical support, community engagement and welcoming environments, South Tyneside nurtures healthy starts for babies while supporting parents with dignity, choice and confidence.
Healthy Start Vitamins & Vouchers
Supporting families with nutrition from pregnancy to early childhood.
South Tyneside has taken a proactive approach to early years nutrition by going further than national policy on Healthy Start vitamins and vouchers, ensuring all pregnant women, new mothers and children under four can access essential support.
The Council’s universal Healthy Start vitamins scheme has distributed over 5,500 vitamin packs in the last three years, with targeted outreach to communities at higher risk of deficiency. At the same time, uptake of Healthy Start vouchers has risen to 76% (above the England average) reflecting strong local promotion through health visitors, midwives, family hubs and supermarket partners.
Healthy Start vouchers help families buy milk, fresh fruit and vegetables, supporting healthier diets during pregnancy and early childhood. Together with the vitamin programme, these initiatives ensure children have the best possible start in life, tackling health inequalities from birth and reinforcing nutrition as a foundation for long-term wellbeing.
Find out how to access Healthy Start support:
Community Shop Nutritional Review
Making healthy choices easier and more affordable.
STOC has partnered with Love Food Bible CIC to enhance the nutritional offer in Hospitality & Hope community shops, reducing ultra-processed and HFSS products in line with the British Nutrition Foundation framework.
This work has increased the focus on fresh produce, making healthier options more accessible and affordable for local residents. Shoppers can enjoy a greater variety of fruits, vegetables, and wholesome ingredients while managing their weekly food budget.
The review is not just about food availability — it also promotes nutrition education, helping residents make informed choices, discover new ingredients, and try simple, healthy recipes at home.
ProVeg Silver for South Tyneside Catering Team
Leading the way in nutritious, sustainable school meals.
South Tyneside’s school catering service has achieved the ProVeg Silver Award, one of only two awarded nationally. This accolade recognises the borough’s commitment to providing nutritious, plant-based meals that support children’s health while reducing the environmental impact of catering.
The award reflects a focus on menu innovation, sustainability, and balanced nutrition, ensuring pupils enjoy meals that are both healthy and appealing. By prioritising plant-based options alongside seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, schools are helping children develop lifelong healthy eating habits.
This initiative also connects to wider efforts in the borough to embed sustainability and food education within school settings, supporting teachers, parents, and young people to make informed choices about what they eat.
Healthy Schools Award
Supporting healthier schools, one meal at a time.
Every council-run school in South Tyneside has signed up to the Healthy Schools Award, demonstrating a commitment to providing healthy food, balanced nutrition, and a supportive learning environment. The award requires schools to show clear evidence of healthy food provision alongside education and activities that encourage positive eating habits.
Through this programme, pupils are not only offered nutritious meals at school but are also supported in developing knowledge and skills around healthy eating, creating habits that can last a lifetime. The award aligns with wider borough initiatives, such as plant-based menus, community cooking projects, and targeted support for families, reinforcing a whole-system approach to health and wellbeing.
South Tyneside’s Young Health Ambassadors
Young people shaping health and wellbeing — including healthy food decisions.
South Tyneside’s Young Health Ambassadors (STYHA) is a programme led by the Public Health team that empowers young people (aged 14–18) to be advocates for health and wellbeing in their schools and communities. Through training, peer engagement and youth‑led campaigns, Ambassadors help raise awareness on a wide range of health topics, including nutritious eating, healthy choices and positive lifestyle habits.
Ambassadors attend training on public health topics, design and run their own health campaigns, and support friends, families and school communities with information and encouragement. Their voice is heard not only in peer settings but also in local services, where they inspect and give feedback on health provision so services become more responsive and youth‑friendly.
In recent years, the group has developed campaigns and resources, such as podcasts and online advice – that help young people find out about local health support and feel more confident making healthier lifestyle choices. This youth participation helps ensure that healthy eating and wellbeing messages reflect the priorities of young people themselves, reinforcing positive habits and encouraging leadership among the next generation.
School Nursing & Targeted Healthy Weight Support
Supporting young people’s health, wellbeing and healthy eating in school settings.
The School Nursing Service in South Tyneside works in partnership with schools, families and healthcare teams to support the overall health of children and young people, including targeted healthy weight interventions in schools with the highest rates of obesity.
As specialist community public health practitioners, school nurses lead on health promotion, early intervention and preventative support in educational settings, helping pupils make healthier choices around food and activity.
In practice, this means school nurses may work with individual pupils, families and staff to provide guidance on healthy eating and physical activity, support participation in programmes linked to the National Child Measurement Programme, and coordinate with wider school health improvement initiatives. By linking healthy weight support to broader public health education in schools, the service helps children and young people build confidence around food choices and reduce long‑term risk factors associated with excess weight.
School nurses also support wider preventative work across the Healthy Child Programme, delivering advice and training alongside partners to embed positive health habits, strengthen school‑based wellbeing offers, and ensure that healthy eating connects with other areas such as emotional wellbeing, resilience and lifestyle.
Better Health at Work Award – South Tyneside
Supporting healthy, flourishing workplaces across South Tyneside.
The Better Health at Work Award is a regional programme that helps employers embed health and wellbeing into everyday work life — including nutrition, physical activity, mental health and broader lifestyle support. It offers a structured recognition pathway from Bronze through to Ambassador level, guiding organisations to develop, deliver and sustain wellbeing activities that matter to their staff.
In South Tyneside, a growing number of local organisations, from employers and community partners to schools and councils – have taken part in the scheme, reaching thousands of employees with campaigns that range from healthy eating guidance and physical activity challenges to stress awareness, financial wellbeing and health checks. This supports staff to make healthier choices at work and at home, connecting nutrition and wellbeing with everyday routines.
Participation also builds a culture of care and connection, giving workplaces the tools, resources and recognition to celebrate positive health behaviours, reduce absenteeism and increase morale.
For example, local businesses achieving Silver and Maintaining Excellence awards have run bespoke activities that include nutrition education and staff health campaigns tailored to their people’s needs.
Learn more about the Better Health at Work Award
Hot Food Takeaway Planning & Healthier Food Environments
Using planning policy to support healthier food choices.
In South Tyneside, planning policy is being used as a tool to support healthier food environments and promote better wellbeing for local residents. As part of the Local Plan 2023–2040, a Hot Food Takeaway Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) helps shape where new hot food takeaway outlets can open, using evidence on health and community impact to guide decisions.
Under this policy, planning permission for new hot food takeaways will not be granted in areas where levels of childhood obesity are highest, measured using the National Child Measurement Programme and within a 400 m radius of secondary schools, reducing the number of unhealthy food outlets close to places children frequent.
These measures are designed to help create an environment where healthier eating choices are easier and less dominated by energy-dense, nutritionally poor options.
The policy also considers the impact of over-concentration of hot food outlets on local vitality, amenity and neighbourhood character, encouraging applicants to promote healthier menu options and provide calorie information.
While not targeting existing businesses, this approach supports wider prevention work such as healthy school food standards, nutrition education and community cooking programmes — by shaping the food landscape children and families encounter on a day-to-day basis.
Breastfeeding Support & Breastfeeding Friendly Venues
Healthy Start Vitamins & Vouchers
Community Shop Nutritional Review
ProVeg Silver for South Tyneside Catering Team
Healthy Schools Award
South Tyneside’s Young Health Ambassadors
School Nursing & Targeted Healthy Weight Support
Better Health at Work Award – South Tyneside
Hot Food Takeaway Planning & Healthier Food Environments
More Healthy Food Information
Explore food support, cooking opportunities and local projects helping people access healthy food across South Tyneside.