Eat Well
in South Tees

Quick links: Food partnerships | Local support | MUST

Supporting healthy lifestyles in South Tees

We are working to make healthy choices easier for everyone in South Tees. One way we are doing this is through the Healthy Weight Declaration. This helps make healthier food and drink more available, more affordable, and easier to choose. It also supports more opportunities for people to be active in their daily lives.

Our Creating Healthy Environments team works with other council teams and local organisations to make South Tees a healthier place to live, learn and work. This includes:

  • making it easier to find healthier food at local events

  • limiting the number of new hot food takeaways

  • reducing adverts for food and drink that are not good for our health

We also know that people need support to make changes in their own lives. We want to help anyone who is trying to:

  • eat more healthily

  • move their body more

  • buy more local food

  • waste less food

Everyone should have the right support to make healthy changes that work for them.

Three people cooking in a kitchen, two women and one man, all wearing purple aprons and smiling.

Food partnerships

We are proud to be part of two local food partnerships: Good Food Middlesbrough and Food Power Together: Greater Eston, Redcar, East Cleveland.

A food partnership is a group of organisations working together to improve the local food system. The aim is to make food fairer (so everyone has access to good food), healthier, and better for the environment.

Both partnerships have their own websites, which include useful information and an interactive food map. These maps can help you find local growing spaces such as community gardens, food banks, eco shops, food support services, and local food businesses. You can also use them to find breastfeeding-friendly places and more.

By working together in this way, we are helping to make South Tees a healthier, fairer, and more sustainable place to live.

Four women wearing purple aprons are cooking together in a modern kitchen. One woman is pouring ingredients into a bowl, another is whisking in a bowl, and the others are assisting or observing. The kitchen has blue cabinets and a white countertop.

Local support

Living a healthy and balanced life isn’t always easy, but there are local services that can help.

  • Off the Scales

    Off the Scales is a free 6-week programme run by Teesside MIND. It is designed to help people understand their relationship with food and physical activity. The programme also offers support to overcome the things that might make it harder to live a healthy and balanced life.

    This programme is not about weight.

    You will not be weighed or measured. Instead, it focuses on making small, realistic changes that can lead to long-lasting improvements in your health and wellbeing - whatever your weight may be.

    To find out more, visit the Teesside Mind website.

  • MatchFIT

    MatchFIT is a free 12-week programme run by MFC Foundation. It helps people improve their health and wellbeing through a mix of fun physical activity sessions and useful information about healthy eating, alcohol, and general wellbeing.

    The programme is open to both men and women (aged 35 to 65 years old), with sessions available in different locations across the South Tees area.

    For more information, please visit the MFC Foundation website or get in touch with the team directly to find out how to join.

    For more information, visit the MFC Foundation website or email enquiries@mfcfoundation.co.uk.

  • Healthy Cooking Sessions

    Middlesbrough Environment City runs free cooking sessions to help people learn how to make healthy meals that do not cost a lot. These hands-on sessions are fun, practical, and can be tailored to suit the needs of your group - whether you are part of a school, community group, workplace or support service.

    The sessions focus on making tasty meals on a budget, reducing food waste, and building confidence in the kitchen. People of all ages and abilities are welcome to take part.

    To find out more or arrange a session for your group, please contact Samia Sadiq at Middlesbrough Environment City by emailing samia.sadiq@menvcity.org.uk.

  • Online support

    If you are looking to make healthier lifestyle choices, there are free online tools that can support you.

    The NHS Better Health website has lots of helpful information, including tips on eating well, moving more, and looking after your general health. You can also find free digital plans to help you manage your weight in a way that works for you.

    Find out more about losing weight.

    If you’re looking for meal ideas, the Better Health website has lots of easy and tasty recipes for you to try at home. The recipes are simple to follow and a great way to make healthier meals for you and your family. Check out recipes for healthy eating.

Managing Undernutrition South Tees (MUST)

The MUST service is part of Public Health South Tees. It helps care homes in Middlesbrough support residents to eat well and live healthier lives.

We work with care home staff to spot and manage problems like:

  • malnutrition – not getting enough of the right food and nutrients

  • obesity – carrying too much body weight

Each care home has a named training coordinator who helps make sure the MUST tool is used properly. They visit care homes twice a year to offer support. During these visits, they:

  • check that residents are screened for nutrition needs

  • make sure care plans are in place and up to date

  • review the meals being served

  • help with menu planning

  • ensure every resident gets the right support for their nutrition needs (including soft diets)

We also work with other local teams like:

  • dietitians

  • speech and language therapists

  • medicines management

  • infection control

  • adult safeguarding

  • the council’s contracts team

Together, we help care homes make good nutrition part of everyday care. The MUST service supports CQC standards (Care Quality Commission).

Colorful plastic cutting boards in white, blue, green, brown, red, and yellow, standing on black holders on a white countertop with a mirror reflecting the boards.
MUST Managing Undernutrition South Tees logo in purple and black text

A key tool we use is the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). We’ve adapted it to better support:

  • older adults

  • people with disabilities

  • people with serious mental illness

This tool helps care homes spot problems early and plan the right support.

We offer training to all staff, depending on their role. This includes:

  • awareness sessions for care staff

  • cooking classes for cooks

  • training on how to record information properly

  • train-the-trainer sessions

To meet MUST standards, each care home is encouraged to have a nutrition champion and take part in campaigns that share good ideas and raise awareness.

The MUST service is designed for South Tees. By working together, we help care homes improve residents’ health and wellbeing through better food, drink, and support.

For more information, please email MUST@middlesbrough.gov.uk.