WITH ALL THE CURRENT CELEBRATIONS ABOUT THE GLORIES OF SPORT – WE

SHOULD GIVE CHILDREN IN THE CAPITAL CITY A SPORTING CHANCE BY DOING

MORE TO ENCOURAGING THEM TO EAT DECENT FOOD AS PART OF A HEALTHY
LIFESTYLE.

On and off the playing field we can be sure that our fittest and fastest sports stars are too
concerned about their health to be regularly eating highly processed ‘junk’ food. Yet it seems
that local sports clubs are happy to offer the potential sports stars of the future as much junk
food as possible (with no alternative ‘real food’ healthy option).

As the recent report from the Government food watchdog agency NICE confirms the view that
the trans-fats and high salt levels which are found in many of the convenience and fast food
sold at the chain outlets which dominate the food economy in most parts of Wales are directly
responsible for illness and disease in the population at large. As the eyes of the world are
focused on football and the excitement of the world cup matches in South Africa, this is a
perfect opportunity to consider how football clubs could contribute to a greater public
awareness about the links between food choices and health, and to promoting the importance
of a healthy diet to budding young footballers.

This would seem to be particularly important in Cardiff, where the new Cardiff City football
stadium recently picked up an award as a ‘Healthy Stadium’. Yet in the view of the Sian
Evans, a dietician and the mother of one keen young Cardiff City fan – a view that has been
repeated to me many times by other parents - the quality of food on sale at the stadium is of
such poor quality that she won’t let her son buy anything. This apparent indifference on the
part of the club to the health of City fans is underscored by the construction of a new outletat
the entrance to the stadium by McDonalds - a company that has been criticized regularly for
serving exactly the kind of fast food which is described as being of a danger to heath in the
NICE report (and which, ironically enough, along with Coca Cola is one of the main sponsors
of London’s 2012 Olympics!). Sian and other parents want to know – with such an array of
excellent food being produced in Wales, why is there no local, tasty, nutritious, additive-free
food is available in or around this so-called ‘healthy’ facility?

(An extra irony to this sorry tale is that the new retail park which was built as a part of the
Cardiff City Stadium development sits on the former site of the Cardiff City Farm. Where
children once fed pigs and geese, and learned about how to grow their own food, there is now
a tarmac car park in front of a series of cloned superstores, including ASDA – owned of
course, by the American company Walmart, the world’s biggest corporation which was
exposed in the film ‘The High Cost of Low Prices’ as making it’s money by paying minimum
wages to its staff and concentrating on high profit items at the expense of quality or – in the
case of food – nutritional value. A new site for a replacement city farm was promised by
Cardiff Council but never materialized.

Can we really hope to produce the sports stars and teams of the future by feeding our
children – the sports stars of the future – highly processed, manufactured food? Welsh people
love playing sports and attending live sports events. But the food on offer at sports stadia in
Wales (and England) is probably the lowest quality anywhere in the world (along with USA).
The food available in and around the Millennium Stadium on match days, for example, is not
only costly but is of very low quality with nothing fresh or sourced locally.
 The same criticism can be levelled at Cardiff Council itself, which despite achieving
recognition recently as a WHO “Healthy City’ and producing a Food and Health Strategy and
a Local Food Procurement Strategy, is still guilty of serving up almost entirely unhealthy fast
food at the venues and events that it manages. This is particularly disappointing at facilities
like the Millennium swimming pool and at leisure centres where adults and children gather to
have fun and also to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. Why are so many vending machines selling
fizzy drinks and sweets, and why does there never seem to be a ‘healthy option’ available in
the cafes, in spite of all the evidence of the benefits which that would bring.

It is time for the Council ‘put its money where its mouth is’ on this important issue, and show
some leadership. Wales, even more than the rest of the UK, is experiencing record levels of
obesity amongst children and young people at the moment. Surely it is time that influential
organisations such as Cardiff City Football Club and the Council (which prides itself on being
a ‘Fair Trade’ city as well as a Healthy one!) took the role of providing healthy food options
more seriously and made a better job of offering choices to parents and children rather than
the usual fare of over-priced hot dogs and burgers - usually made from the least palatable
parts of animals kept abroad in inhumane conditions - served with stodgy buns and greasy
chips.

My criticism of the Urdd Eisteddfod in Cardiff last year for having the same shortcoming in
terms of the poor quality of food available, received wide coverage in the press and an
acknowledgement from the Urdd Director that improvement was needed - but has anything
really changed?

For our young people to have the chance of being the future best sportsmen and women in
the world there’s only one kind of food that will help them stay real fit – and that’s ‘real food’.
Along with many parents, I want to see more local fresh food on offer at sports events and
Council facilities, so that parents who are concerned about their children’s diet have at least
got a chance of encouraging them to make healthy choices at this formative age.

In order to move things forward, RCMA, the social enterprise that runs Cardiff’s award-
winning Riverside Farmer’s Market, is planning to work with organisations, sports clubs,
dieticians and the Council to develop and deliver a ‘Real Fit: Real Food’ campaign which will
make sure that more healthy local food is available at all sports and leisure facilities and
events in the city, and help make the capital of Wales a truly ‘healthy city’ which will produce
the winners – in health, as well as in sports terms – of the future.

Steve Garrett
Winner: 2010 Inspire Wales Award
Chair, Riverside Community Market Association