VISION - virtual interactive shopping online
Heather Woodward of Gloucestershire Trading Standards talks about VISION (Virtual Interactive Shopping Information Online) an interactive online shopping game & information toolkit based around a food hall and devised by the Service to help educate consumers on how to go about eating a balanced diet and essentially enable people to make more informed decisions about the food they eat.
When logging onto the VISION site you are greeted with a splash screen which invites the user to either explore the food hall at their leisure or take up the centrepiece of the hall, the ‘Are you Balanced?’ challenge. The hall contains over 130 different foods each with their own ‘food label’ containing:
- Generic information about fat, salt and sugar levels as represented by the Food Standards Agency traffic light system
- The category each food falls into as dictated by the Food Standards Agency Eatwell plate
- Interesting scripted nutritional and ‘did you know?’ facts
Aims and Objectives
The main aim of the project was to enhance the food information pages we provide on our website for the users predominantly in the county of Gloucestershire. I began writing topical food articles that I thought might be of interest and then began wondering whether there might be another way of engaging the general public.
A food hall seemed to be the obvious solution as there would be so much scope to convey so many different messages relating to food labeling and diet and nutrition issues. I felt at the time that such messages but could play a part in not only educating the consumer regarding issues of food labelling but also promoting the virtues of eating a balanced diet in support of government driven initiatives to reduce obesity and improve the nation’s health by reducing intakes of fat, salt and sugar and encourage the consumption of fruit, vegetables, and wholegrain and starchy foods.
Access to safe and healthy food is fundamental to reducing health inequalities and improving the general well-being of local communities. Local Area Agreements provide an important framework for local authorities and their partners to work together on food initiatives, recognising the crucial role they have in improving people's access to healthy food.
As part of this role Local authorities are responsible for the day-to-day monitoring and enforcement of most UK food and animal feed legislation, and help ensure food is safe and accurately labelled. They also have a key role in shaping people's diet as an employer and service provider in the community and this is where Gloucestershire Trading Standards Service’ VISION food hall project steps up to the mark.
Partners
- Gloucestershire Trading Standards
- Rancon Web Designers
- Gloucestershire Food Vision Team
- Rob Rees (Cotswold Chef)
- FSA Regional Coordinator, Toni Smith
- Stroud & Forest of Dean Environmental Health Services
- Worcestershire Scientific Services
Hoping to work with…
- Gloucestershire CC Environment Team
- Gloucestershire CC Adult Education
Methodology
The project was initially delivered over a six monthly period in 5 stages.
Stage 1 Planning and Design
We initially met with Rancon (the chosen web designers of VISION) to agree on the look and feel of the proposed food hall.
Stage 2 Creation of the Storyboard
A storyboard was created for approval by all interested parties and based on this production began. This stage took approximately 3 months to complete.
Stage 3 Beta Version
A beta version of the site was put together and circulated amongst members for agreement. This stage took approximately 3 months to complete.
Stage 4 Final Version
After agreement from all parties has been reached the final version was created.
Stage 5 Testing
Integration and testing followed together with a “soft launch” on the final servers that were to be used. Finally extensive testing carried out before the full public launch in December 2006.
Promotion
The project was presented initially to Gloucestershire Food Vision where it was very well received and we launched at the “Are we what we eat?” conference at the Royal Agricultural College in December 2006.
Since this time VISION has been discussed with the local primary care trust, Healthy Schools Partnership, Environment Health and the Food Standards Agency. Work has and is being carried out with local schools and we believe that other trading standards authorities are using the site for general educational purposes around the country.
We have exhibited at Trading Standards Institute conferences, written articles for local and national magazines/newspapers, carried out radio interviews and attended many food events in the county where we publicise the site. A ‘VISION’ video has been produced which can be found on our website and on ‘You Tube’ and we are in regular contact with our local press office and media team to further promote the site.
Resources
VISION is the product of input from our partners in the county, especially the Gloucestershire Food Vision team who have been a great support from the development stages.
Funding has been found internally and staffing wise this has been covered in house, with all 8 members of the team being involved in some way with the project from writing text for the food items in the hall to exhibiting at the TSI conference. The purchase of a plasma screen has been a great asset when promoting the site at food events both locally and nationally.
Evaluation
Evaluation of the success of the site is determined on a monthly basis by hits to the site itself and take up within schools, together with results of feedback questionnaires to determine whether users, after visiting the site, have gained a better understanding of what makes up a balanced diet and a greater awareness of the importance of a balanced diet in staying healthy. We have set targets for uptake within our service plan, which are monitored quarterly.
Overall success of the strategy would be, in the long term, to reduce obesity in Gloucestershire, particularly in school children. We are confident our ‘Virtual Food Hall’ will play a part in making this happen.
We have received some very positive feedback, but would like more please! This is key to us being able to evaluate ‘changed awareness’.
Typical comments:
- ‘great resource for school’
- ‘very impressive’
- ‘really useful toolkit for all ages’
The changes we have made as a result of evaluation have been relatively minor, from amendments to text, to incorporating a new high scores board to encourage more activity. Many commented however on the landing page and the fact that it wasn’t working well due to lack of signposting and general direction. We acted on this and the page has now been reworked.
The MD constantly reminded us that we must at all times adhere to the golden rules of any public facing interactive project, remembering always to engage, entertain and reward, and so keeping VISION fresh and fun.
Lessons Learned
Essentially we have created a strong product in VISION with lots of potential but it is absolutely crucial to keep promoting the value of it’s usage continually, once or twice is just not enough!
Future Developments
We are constantly reviewing VISION and are currently looking at ways to work with other partners to add further value to the project. The options are endless, from incorporating further Environmental Health messages, adding new aisles and non food items, to including another challenge based on environmental issues concerning food wastage and recycling.
The VISION blog,‘Digest This’ was launched in June 2008. The aim of the blog is to discuss a whole plethora of food related issues over the course of the next year and encourage people to air their views and hopefully spark some lively debates. Rob Rees, ‘The Cotswold Chef’ is a regular columnist injecting his enthusiasm once a month into the debates and calling on all to have their say. Keep a look out for the monthly podcast, game and food related quiz which will test out amongst other things, what you have learnt during your stay in the hall.
Contact Details
Contact Name: Heather Woodward
Job Title: Senior Food Enforcement Officer
Phone: 01452 426219
Email: heather.woodward@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Fax: (01452) 426274
Website: www.visionfoodhall.com
Organisation: Gloucestershire Trading Standards Service
Address: Hillfield House, Denmark Road, Gloucester GL1 3LD