Health food stores have received greater recognition for their role in preventive care at the UK Annual Social Prescribing Link Worker Day Conference, sponsored by Viridian Nutrition.
At the virtual event, Viridian’s technical manager Jenny Carson (pictured below) championed health food stores, highlighting their frontline support role and services to link workers, GPs, social care and health leaders and advisors.
Carson, a Master of Research in Public Health, discussed how nutrition can impact health and wellbeing and urged the 300-strong audience to ‘tap into’ and work more closely with local health food stores to support the Government’s Social Prescribing strategy.
She discussed the barriers to nutrition and how health food stores work with the Health Food Institute (HFI) Protocol and help with preventative care in their local communities.
Viridian has created a short video presenting the case for health food stores to integrate with the Government’s Social Prescribing strategy which is available for health retailers to share.
“Independent health stores have many experienced and qualified staff, and therefore they can give excellent nutritional advice,” Carson explains in the video. “There’s also the HFI Protocol which signposts when a customer should be redirected to their medical professional.
“In addition, there’s a great range of produce to match different budgets. There’s the community feeling and that sense of engagement and being part of a movement, whether that’s through the attendance of activities or educational events.
“Finally, there’s the planetary health, where people can find out about more eco and sustainable options within diet and lifestyle produce. Health Food Institute offers a protocol and guideline for independent health food stores to support the choices of their consumers.”
The video is available on Viridian’s YouTube channel @ViridianTV.
