At East Bristol Foodbank, Sally and Kingswood volunteers Mary, Ann and Wendy have just finished a 6-week pilot course called Eat Well, Spend Less with a CCM group called ‘MY TIME’.
The course has been designed by the Trussell Trust to help people on low incomes eat well and also tackles issues such as food safety, budgeting, nutrition and shopping habits. Each week the group got to grips with two recipes (one savoury and one sweet) with discussions and activities based on that week’s theme.
The recipes included basic meal staples including a simple tomato sauce to add to pasta or rice, as well as more complicated recipes like creating homemade burgers. The group also cooked delicious desserts like an apple crumble and cookies. Each week the participants received a laminated sheet with the recipes on, including the cost of all of the ingredients to help them budget as well as lesson cards with a summary of what had been discussed during the session.
After the group finished cooking they would all eat together and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment at having created meals they wouldn’t usually have attempted.
The volunteers had various positive things to say about being involved. They enjoyed seeing how the participants grew in confidence and how they opened up about some of the challenges in their lives.
The participants also gave us lots of positive feedback:
- One person was really wary of knives when she started the course, but by the final week she was happily cutting up onions.
- Another came in one week and told us she had been experimenting with the omelette recipe from the previous week and had found all sorts of things she could add.
- Another said that the course had given them greater confidence
- Another said that she was now saving approximately £10 a week on her food budget.
If you would like to take part in a future course please contact us at [email protected]