Newham encouraged to get active with new Activity Packs distributed via Food Hubs

London Sport is giving a helping hand to Newham residents looking for quick and easy ways to exercise by distributing 1,000 Activity Packs across the borough.

The Activity Packs will allow children and their parents to exercise at home or, if Britain’s summer weather allows, move out into one of London’s many parks and open spaces.

The packs include a tennis ball, resistance bands and skipping rope provided by London Sport Awards shortlisted nominee Decathlon and a booklet with information on how to use the equipment.

Alongside the packs, London Sport is providing access to coaching sessions where recipients can test out the equipment and learn game ideas so they can make full use of the equipment.

Sport England most recent Active Lives data showed that half (50.2%) of adults in Newham were successfully completing the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity every week.

This is well below the London (62.3%) and national (61.4%) averages with over a third of adults (37.4%) doing less than 30 minutes of moderate activity in a week.

Just 27% of adults in lower socio-economic groups completed the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity a day in the week to 1

March, compared to 30% of their more affluent peers.

The packs, created using Sport England’s Tackling Inequalities Fund to reduce the widening inequalities in the sport and physical activity sector, will be distributed via The Newham Food Alliance.

The Newham packs are the conclusion of a sustained pandemic response by London Sport with similar activity equipment being distributed in Barnet, Haringey, and Redbridge while over 200 table tennis at home packs were made available in Southwark, Greenwich, Islington and Harrow.

Chris Donkin, Strategic Lead – Facilities and Urban Spaces for London Sport, said:

"These Activity Packs will be a real lifeline for families who struggle to access facilities in the borough either due to time, financial or confidence reasons.

“We must support those most affected by the pandemic through our partnerships with Newham Council and The Newham Food Alliance who are incredible at helping those most in need.

"London Sport continues to work with and support communities most impacted by the pandemic to ensure there are opportunities that they want to take part in and facilities that they want to access.”

Cllr Zulfiqar Ali, Newham’s Cabinet Member of Adults and Health said:

"Improving the health of our residents is one of the key priorities from our ‘50 Steps: Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

"I am delighted that we are giving free resources to people and families in our borough to support their mental and physical wellbeing. Not everyone has access to fitness equipment, so I hope those recipients of the activity packs will be able to make good use of them and feel better and healthier as a result.”