Sainsbury's - Britain on the Mend

Sainsburys developed ‘Britain on the MEND’ through a five year partnership with MEND Central and more recently with the Youth Sport Trust.  It involves parents, teachers, Sainsbury’s employees and young people.  Each Programme is managed by one of Sainsbury’s Food Advisors, at a school selected by the Youth Sport Trust. 

Each Programme is delivered over a nine-week period, with 18 two-hour sessions twice a week.  Because sessions focus on theory and exercise, children get a balanced view of how to stay healthy – by eating well and exercising. 

Britain on the MEND is a three year project that allows more than 450 MEND Programmes to be delivered free to:

• 5,000 children and
• 5,000 parents/carers
• 50 communities

The Programme seeks to target disadvantaged communities, as a result almost half of MEND participants have come from BME communities, and in almost one-third of households involved so far the principal earner is unemployed.