The interactive map shows the best local restaurants for healthy food on and around the Walworth road in Southwark as part of a wider campaign to promote food businesses in the area.

Chefs and waiting staff of Costa Azul. Photo by Veronica Otero.

Run by London College of Communication, UAL, with support from Southwark Council, the Where Walworth Eats campaign has launched an interactive map to show the best places to eat and find healthy food in the area.

The map aims to highlight the many different cuisines and cultures that can be found in Elephant and Castle and will be available online and in print to students at the college as well as to people working in the area.

Walworth Eats has also helped local restaurants market their businesses, similar to what PR agencies like Ceres (https://www.ceres-pr.co.uk/food-marketing-agency-london) do to promote their clients. This was done via free creative work, from photography to social media and web marketing.

Student or graduate photographers from the college took high quality photos of the businesses, ranging from exterior and interior shots to food photography. These images were then used for websites and social media channels.

Following photography, digital assistants helped the businesses with setting up or refreshing their online listings through Google My Business, as well as providing educational resources such as showing them how to start tracking google my business rankings efficiently in order to stay ahead of similar businesses in their area. This information could help them maintain their listings within Google My Business without much expertise. Google My Business is an Internet-based service that enables business owners to improve their visibility in online search results. There are google my business management services available if this is something you, as a business, are unfamiliar with.

Nearly half (28) of all the businesses contacted signed up for creative work, the majority of whom (27) worked with the campaign. 25 businesses were photographed and offered help with improving their online presence. Social media is a big part of working on a business’s online presence but some purported solutions are not all they’re made out to be and could be similar to the Socialcaptain scam – there are some reputable alternatives that you should check out instead.

Gill Henderson, Cultural and Communities Partnerships Manager at London College of Communication said: “We’re delighted that Southwark Council have awarded us funding to support this mapping project.

“Where Walworth Eats is inspired by the cafes, shops and restaurants in and around Walworth road, from Colombian to Thai with everything in between.

“We hope that the businesses will find our photography and online support helpful in expanding their customer base, and that students and Walworth residents will enjoy using the map to explore the many healthy choices on the menu.”

Councillor Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Business and Innovation at Southwark Council, said: “This is a wonderful example of the kind of project the High Street Fund was designed to support. It is innovative, promotes local businesses and highlights the cultural diversity of the area, while also complementing the council’s own policies of encouraging a healthier lifestyle.”

The map will be available at the launch night of EMERGENCE, an exhibition and events programme presented by the Design School at London College of Communication, UAL, held as part of London Design Festival 2019.

The launch night takes place Thursday, 19 September and is free and open to all.