Working as a community food worker: Voices from the inside

Abstract

Aims: Community food worker (CFW) is one of the new roles that were proposed in the 2004 White Paper Choosing Health: Making Healthier Choices Easier. CFWs are recruited from local communities and generally operate in areas characterized by extreme social deprivation. The aim of this paper is to illuminate the experience of being a CFW in the context of working in a relatively new non-professional role. Methods: As part of an ongoing evaluation of a CFW scheme in the north west of England, a qualitative interview and two focus groups were conducted with CFWs. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Results: Emergent issues faced by these new practitioners include: the nature of their role; quantifying success; working with other health professionals; skills and knowledge; and strategies used to work with communities. Conclusion: This study has highlighted some pertinent and previously unreported issues related to the experience of being a CFW, raising questions about their assimilation into the public health workforce and their use in delivering effective public health interventions without further integration.