Family Learning - Food Fit For Families

Helen Bennett from Food Fit For Families has writen a case study * Names have been changed.  For more information on Food Fit For Families and Family Learning, please contact Morwenna Vernon, Family Learning Development Manager on 01726 891993.

After specifically requesting the Food Fit for Families course, * School employed one of their Learning Mentors to target and recruit families. Anna came to the first session as the result of this and admitted that she may not have had the impetus to have attended without such encouragement.

In the first session, although Anna discussed some of her ‘issues' with food and explained about her daughter Jessica's dietary problems in a frank and open manner she was equally blunt in admitting that she didn't expect to make any changes to her own diet or that of her family as a result of attending the course. Despite being very self-aware and acknowledging her self-proclaimed ‘unhealthy' attitude, she couldn't see how anything could begin to affect the deep seated problems she herself had with food or impact the ongoing struggle of Jessica's limited diet.

Anna returned the following week and her honest and forthright manner quickly ensured her place as an integral member of the group. Her engaging personality put other group members at ease and she was keen to not only share her own thoughts and experiences but to also listen to others. It became clear that Anna found the experience of being able to talk in a safe environment without fear of being judged a cathartic one and this had the positive effect of rubbing off on other group members.

By the third week, Anna was ecstatic to be able to share some exciting news: Jessica had tried two new foods at home since the previous session! Within the context of her family and Jessica's diet this was very significant and Anna felt sure that being involved in the group activity was having a positive effect on her daughter, as it allowed her to explore food with her peers free from the pressure she usually associated with it.

As the course progressed Anna came in each week with new pieces of news to share, from her daughter responding more positively to new foods to her own experiences of making small changes in her diet or buying something new to cook for the first time. It was clear that she felt more in control of her relationship with food and that fact that she did have the power to make small changes seemed to be something of a revelation. Jessica and Anna's other daughter, Lisa, both took immense pride in preparing the food we made in the joint sessions, with Anna learning that they could all value the experience in its own right regardless of the outcome. They often enjoyed taking the dish home to present it to Anna's husband for dinner!

At the end of the course Anna wrote on her Individual Learning Plan; "The course has made me look more closely at the lack of balance in my diet and has also resulted in Jessica being slightly more adventurous - a step in the right direction!".

In addition to enjoying the time spent with her daughters, Anna found that the things she learnt enabled her to be better informed about her diet and to value the small, everyday changes that were within her control to make. She was also incredibly proud to be proved wrong by the daughter who, as she confidently informed us all at the start of the course, only ate four food items and would definitely not be trying anything new on the course!

I feel that this case study serves to highlight the important impact Family Learning can have in empowering learners to start making small but significant changes to their lives - the impact of which will continue to be felt long after the completion of the course.