Health & Wellbeing, HSE Southwest
Expression of Interest (EOI) to:

Co-ordinate the ‘Healthy Food Made Easy’ programme across the county of Cork 

(outside Sláintecare Healthy Communities area)

Background Information

The Head of Service, Health & Wellbeing, HSE Southwest (Cork & Kerry) is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from organisations with a track record of working effectively with communities to improve their physical health and emotional wellbeing - to co-ordinate and deliver a community based Cooking & nutrition Programme – ‘Healthy Food Made Easy’ (HFME).

Successful organisations will be contracted by HSE via Section 39 Grant Agreement (Health Act 2004) to deliver a specified level of service. It is essential the host organisation for this post has a track record of working effectively with disadvantaged communities to deliver programmes that improve health and wellbeing. Previous involvement with the HFME programme will be an advantage but is not essential.

The geographical area of the service will cover the county of Cork apart from the Sláintecare Healthy Communities (SHC) area of Cork city northside which has a separate funding stream . (This SHC area includes Knocknaheeny, Fair Hill, Churchfield, Gurranebraher, Farranferris, The Glen, Mayfield, Blackpool).

The HFME is a 6-week nutrition and cooking skills course delivered by trained facilitators in the community. Some ‘staff tutors’ deliver to their client groups within an organisation as part of their existing role. The programme is primarily targeted at socio-economic disadvantaged groups who are struggling to prepare healthy meals on a tight budget. It is suitable for a wide range of audiences including parents of young children, those living alone with limited cooking skills, older teenagers, Travellers, adults moving into independent living, those attending family support services etc. The co-ordination and delivery of the service by a community organisation will involve a partnership approach with the community & voluntary sector and the HSE.

Community organisations will be required to:

• Assign administration resource to a designated HFME co-ordinator to manage the logistics of programme roll out in accordance with national standards
• The HFME coordinator along with the wider organisation’s support will coordinate the delivery of an agreed number of HFME programmes annually across the county of Cork (propose 6 programmes for the remainder of 2025). This coordination will involve linking with the various partners involved in HFME ie trained tutors, participant groups, community leaders, health promotion dietitian etc.
• Participate in a HFME coordination governance group, identifying and responding to gaps and local need
• Complete and return reports, including financial reporting in a timely manner, to facilitate monitoring and evaluation of the programme by HSE.

The HSE will provide the following support to the community organisation:

• Funding to provide the agreed quantum of service over June-Dec 2025, in line with nationally agreed funding model
• Access to HSE Dietitian to provide training for new tutors (as needed) and refresher/upskilling on an annual basis; background support to answer tutor queries, and to visit each course on week 5 or 6
• Support from HSE Health Promotion & Improvement Department on promoting the programme
• Access to materials and resources to support programme delivery

For additional information on the Healthy Food Made Easy Programme in Cork please follow these links: https://glencentre.ie/new-sports-centre/ https://www.hse.ie/communitycooking

If you wish to express your interest in this role & want further detail on what is involved, please contact: Fiona Rush, Senior Health Promotion Dietitian. E-mail: Fiona.Rush@hse.ie - Mobile: 087 1864115 

Expression of Interest Form attached below to be completed and returned by 5pm Wednesday 21st May 2025 by email to: Fiona Rush, Senior Health Promotion Dietitian. E-mail: Fiona.Rush@hse.ie