UK Government-funded restaurant to open in Dundee

A state-subsidised restaurant is to open in Dundee to provide deprived households with access to nutritious food in a social setting, the UK Government has announced.

The initiative, announced by science and technology secretary Peter Kyle, will see two restaurants launch next summer – one in Dundee and another in Nottingham – offering “universal access” to sustainably sourced, healthy food as part of a broader effort to address food inequality and social isolation.

They are one of six newly announced projects that will receive £8.5m in UK Government funding to tackle food inequality, including a mapping tool to direct a mobile greengrocer to visit areas of Liverpool where social housing residents have limited access to fresh fruit and vegetables.

In some areas, residents will receive vouchers to buy fruit and vegetables from the bus.

Researchers will measure how the diet and health of recipients change as a result of the initiative in order to predict the effect of it being rolled out across the country.

It follows the launch of the Government’s ten-year health plan, which last week included the announcement that supermarkets could be fined if they do not sell healthier food.

Other projects will assess the role of community food markets in areas of Glasgow with limited access to grocery stores, known as “food deserts”, surveying food pantry users to find out about other activities and support they would like to see on offer, such as cooking sessions or recipe boxes, and improving the nutritional content and take-up of free school meals.

Mr Kyle said: “No one in this country should be left unable to access the healthy food they need – which is why interventions like the Queen of Greens are so important – and measuring their impact is so vital.

“These projects will draw on the power of research to actively explore the best ways to get healthy food into the mouths of those who need it, potentially having a transformational effect on people’s lives, and fulfilling the missions set in our Plan for Change.”

Professor Alison Park, deputy executive chairwoman of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), said: “Everyone should have access to healthy, nutritious food but we know the number of food insecure households across the UK is increasing.

“These innovative projects from across the UK – from Wales to Dundee, Nottingham to the Isle of Wight – will go a long way in helping us understand how to tackle food inequalities and what interventions really make a difference.”

Dundee City Council has been contacted for comment.