Project Description:
The Wellbeing Blitz wants to provoke a transformation towards healthier and more just food environments through the creation of citizen-generated data that reflect people’s food relations within their neighbourhoods and the availability of healthy options, as well as the neighbourhood dietary patterns and health status. For that, we will establish a community engagement initiative grounded on citizen science – the Wellbeing Blitz – where participants will embark on a food discovery journey in their neighbourhoods to: map their relations with the places where they shop/eat, assess the type/quality/price of healthy options and evaluate their personal dietary patterns.
Finally, they will plan a healthy meal with a fixed budget. At the end, participants will be rewarded with a healthy buffet and a basket with food items and recipes to cook a healthy meal. This will be kickstarted in four locations in Portugal with different geographical and socioeconomic profiles – Sintra, Covilhã, Viseu and Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo.
Project Type: Kickstarting Grant
Theme: Sustainable Lifestyles, Food
Mentor: Karen Soacha
WellBeing Blitz: towards healthier and sustainable food environments through community engagement
The WellBeing Blitz project is a collaborative effort involving four academic institutions and three municipalities in Portugal, aimed at promoting food environments that encourage healthier and more sustainable choices, particularly among adolescents and young adults.
“This is an extremely relevant topic, both locally and globally. For example, from 1990 to 2022, the prevalence of overweight children aged 5–19 years increased from 8% to 20%. In Portugal, the current situation is even more alarming,”
explains Maria Vicente from Open Science Hub PT – Municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, coordinator of the WellBeing Blitz project.
“That’s why, considering the scale of this problem and the need for solutions arising from a community effort, the WellBeing Blitz project is being piloted in four locations in Portugal with diverse geographic and socioeconomic contexts: Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Covilhã, Viseu, and Sintra.”
In each of these locations, the project partners are collaborating with groups of high school or university students – the citizen scientists – who are analysing the food offerings in their neighbourhoods’ establishments and assessing their alignment with the Mediterranean Diet. This analysis represents the culmination of a community engagement process involving various stakeholders and tailored dynamics unique to each location.
The first step involved engaging the educational community and recruiting students to become citizen scientists through awareness-raising sessions at schools and universities. These sessions included individual assessments of students’ adherence to the Mediterranean Diet.
The second step involved outreach to food establishments, with a focus on fostering a sense of collective responsibility for shaping young people’s eating habits. In some locations, this phase included organising community dinners with students, school representatives, and professionals from food establishments and local health centres. In others, business associations played a key intermediary role in liaising with food establishments.
With these preparations complete, the WellBeing Blitz is now entering its final phase. Young participants will visit local food establishments to explain the project, assess their food offerings, and evaluate their alignment with the Mediterranean Diet.
To conclude, each location will host a community gathering where all stakeholders involved will be invited to discuss the project’s results, reflect on next steps, and enjoy healthy, delicious snacks made from local and sustainable ingredients.
“This is a very special project, and we are grateful to the IMPETUS Accelerator Programme for enabling us to bring together researchers from different academic institutions – the School of Agriculture, Viseu Polytechnic Institute; Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon; Lisbon School of Health Technology, Lisbon Polytechnic Institute; and the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Porto – alongside three municipalities: the Food and Quality Hub, Municipality of Sintra; Municipal Library, Municipality of Covilhã; and Open Science Hub PT, Municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo”
concludes Maria Vicente. “Together, we are working on solutions that can make a meaningful contribution to the common good.”
