Summer Holiday Cookery Club Success!

UKHarvest host successful summer holiday cookery club for children.

This Summer environmental charity UKHarvest hosted successful cookery sessions across West Sussex for young people aged 8-14. Children receiving free school meals were invited to learn about the impacts of food waste and the importance of a healthy diet, through tasting world foods and enjoying cultural activities.

The participants learnt how to prepare and discover new foods from around the world. Through fun cultured activities such as Korean inspired colouring sheets, world food word searches, missing word maps and a draw-the-story based on traditional Indian foods. The response was astoundingly positive from parents and children alike, when 29 parents were asked if they would recommend the Holiday Club to others, a round 100% responded – YES!

Donna Martin, Community Development Manager said “The clubs are a fantastic opportunity to encourage young people to think about the environmental and social impact of food, but they also become an opportunity to engage with families. The clubs have been a heart-warming experience with positive feedback from families who have gone on to receive further support.”

Many support agencies came along to the last half-hour of each cookery club session to speak with parents about support and services available to them and their children. Conversation with representatives from DWP led to one family claiming an extra £400 through benefits which they hadn’t realised they were entitled to before.

Agencies who came along included: Arun and Chichester Wellbeing, West Sussex Mind, Early Help team from WSCC, GamCare, Citizens Advice, Healthwatch, Community Engagement WCSS, Supporting Families (JCP). The sessions five free courses took place in: Chichester, Littlehampton, Bognor Regis, Petworth and Selsey.

Making new friends, developing new skills and trying new tastes every step of the way, children walked away after each session eager to get back into the kitchen and try many new recipes or create their own.