Gateshead residents cook up a feast
With the cost of food prices rising, it has felt increasingly difficult to cook affordable and nutritious meals that fill the whole family. To help tackle this, community organisations across Gateshead have been busy running 'Cooking on a Budget' courses with their residents to produce tasty and cheap meals that they can make again at home.
Funded by the Household Support Fund, Gateshead Council awarded 16 organisations a grant to run 6-12-week courses, many of whom welcomed over 20 guests per week to enjoy cooking and eating together. With the option to take home a low-cost cooking appliance (such as a slow cooker) upon completion of the course, it was great to see residents enjoy learning new recipes and leave with equipment that can help them to cook more affordably at home.
The newly formed Gateshead Food Partnership held a gathering in March for organisations involved with cooking activities to share their experiences, challenges and successes, as well as support each other with resources and ideas. All who attended agreed that cooking classes not only built people's confidence in the kitchen but also built confidence in themselves, through meeting new people and participating in creative activities.
Grant funding for small-scale community food projects, funded by UKSPF, is now open for applications. If you are interested in applying, please complete our small grants for community food projects form (opens new window) by Friday 31 May.
What some of our participants said:
"There's a big push to address the stigma of foodbanks and the perception of food handouts. It's now about supporting people by allowing them the same experiences as others - going to supermarkets, the social experience of shopping and the freedom of choice to select your preferences.
With this in mind, we worked with Gateshead College and produced recipe cards, showing people how they can cook three nutritional meals, under a tenner, for a family of four."
Out North East (Pride Media Centre)
"We had a really good mix of people who came, from asylum seekers and local mums to single men with social anxiety who really came out of their shell through the course. We even had one student who has since got a job as a cook due to his completing this course. He applied for a cleaning job with a restaurant but they offered him a job as a trainee cook instead when they saw his certificate."
St Chad's Community Kitchen
"Sometimes the things I get from the food bank just sits in my cupboard. Now I am going to find a way to use them up in soups, so they don't go to waste".
"The scrap stock was so delicious - I have started saving all of my vegetable scraps in the freezer and I will make my own stock. I usually buy Maggi cubes, but they are expensive because I cook a lot and my family is large. I think I will save so much money."
The Comfrey Project
With the cost of food prices rising, it has felt increasingly difficult to cook affordable and nutritious meals that fill the whole family. To help tackle this, community organisations across Gateshead have been busy running 'Cooking on a Budget' courses with their residents to produce tasty and cheap meals that they can make again at home.
Funded by the Household Support Fund, Gateshead Council awarded 16 organisations a grant to run 6-12-week courses, many of whom welcomed over 20 guests per week to enjoy cooking and eating together. With the option to take home a low-cost cooking appliance (such as a slow cooker) upon completion of the course, it was great to see residents enjoy learning new recipes and leave with equipment that can help them to cook more affordably at home.
The newly formed Gateshead Food Partnership held a gathering in March for organisations involved with cooking activities to share their experiences, challenges and successes, as well as support each other with resources and ideas. All who attended agreed that cooking classes not only built people's confidence in the kitchen but also built confidence in themselves, through meeting new people and participating in creative activities.
Grant funding for small-scale community food projects, funded by UKSPF, is now open for applications. If you are interested in applying, please complete our small grants for community food projects form (opens new window) by Friday 31 May.
What some of our participants said:
"There's a big push to address the stigma of foodbanks and the perception of food handouts. It's now about supporting people by allowing them the same experiences as others - going to supermarkets, the social experience of shopping and the freedom of choice to select your preferences.
With this in mind, we worked with Gateshead College and produced recipe cards, showing people how they can cook three nutritional meals, under a tenner, for a family of four."
Out North East (Pride Media Centre)
"We had a really good mix of people who came, from asylum seekers and local mums to single men with social anxiety who really came out of their shell through the course. We even had one student who has since got a job as a cook due to his completing this course. He applied for a cleaning job with a restaurant but they offered him a job as a trainee cook instead when they saw his certificate."
St Chad's Community Kitchen
"Sometimes the things I get from the food bank just sits in my cupboard. Now I am going to find a way to use them up in soups, so they don't go to waste".
"The scrap stock was so delicious - I have started saving all of my vegetable scraps in the freezer and I will make my own stock. I usually buy Maggi cubes, but they are expensive because I cook a lot and my family is large. I think I will save so much money."
The Comfrey Project
