Healthy food research reaches new phase for Colac community

Members of the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) in Deakin's Institute for Health Transformation (IHT) and key partners from Colac Area Health, Colac Otway Shire and Salvation Army are testing a new digital tool called MAP MY which will help them better understand the local food environment and gather information about where and why people buy their food.

GLOBE research fellow Dr Cindy Needham said MAP MY will give people living in the Colac Otway Shire the chance to identify community prioritised solutions so that healthier food choices can be made easier for people.

'This testing stage will help us fine tune the tool so that we can roll it out more widely across the community later this year,' Dr Needham said.

'We want to get as much input as we can from communities across the Colac Otway Shire so the MAP MY tool suits the community,' Dr Needham said.

'The information we gather will help us develop community health strategies and apply for additional funds to implement community prioritised solutions.'

Next week the research team will meet with the community to discuss the MAP MY project at neighbourhood houses in Apollo Bay, Forrest and Gellibrand, as well as other locations in Lavers Hill and Colac, including the Salvation Army, Colac Area Health and the Colac Library.

Dr Needham said improving access to healthy food, especially affordable and good quality fruit and vegetables, helped people lead healthier lives.

'Another part of our work this year will be a Healthy Food Basket study which will see us visiting supermarkets and local stores throughout the municipality looking at the differences in cost, quality and availability of foods needed for a healthy nutritious and well-rounded diet.

'Shopping for fresh and healthy produce can be difficult in rural areas where there are long distances to travel and retail choices are more limited and that can lead to a reliance on foods with a longer shelf life that may not be as healthy as fresh alternatives.

'This project is allowing us to get to know the community and work with them to design solutions that will improve their access healthy food.'

MAP MY was developed with the assistance of Deakin's Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI), home to Australia's largest research team in systems modelling and simulation, with funding support from Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund.