Family Cookery
Equipping families to make long lasting changes in their diets by teaching foundational cooking skills and nutrition is proven to help develop resilience against food poverty, poor diet and poor health outcomes.
Chantelle
Three kids and one mum trying to hold everyone and everything together. Through cooking together and quiet encouragement, a story of change began to unfold.
We first met Chantelle and her three children at one of Family Cookery Clubs. The children’s primary school encouraged them to attend because the children’s attendance was particularly poor and most days they either didn’t attend at all or came in around lunchtime. Through the Family Cookery Club the school not only hoped that the family would learn to make healthy and nutritious meals from scratch, but also that they would have a better relationship with school and thus the children’s attendance would improve.
At the first session it seemed like the plan wouldn’t work as the family didn’t show up at all. The family did, however, attend the second session and it was clear that they were very vulnerable. Chantelle was very offhand and refused to listen to the recipe instructions, insisting that she already knew how to cook. As mum came to the group each week in the same clothes, we began to realise how desperately poor this family was. These children are three of the 40,000 children in Leeds who live in destitution, with their families unable to afford to keep them clean, warm, clothed or fed.
As the weeks progressed and the cookery team walked alongside Chantelle and her three children, teaching them to cook, her walls began to break down. It was clear that under the façade of ‘knowing how to cook’ was actually a mum who was desperate to do the best for her children, but didn’t know how to. Week by week we taught them how to make homemade pizza, sweet and sour pork with noodles, homemade tomato sauce with spaghetti, chicken, sweetcorn and spinach pasta bake and so much more.
By coming along to the Family Cookery Club, this family’s diets have been transformed and they now eat a cooked meal each evening. What’s more, the children now arrive at school on time every day and are engaged in lessons. We continue to offer Chantelle ongoing support and friendship, and the three Cookery Club certificates we gave the children are proudly stuck on the chimney breast in their lounge so that everyone can see them.
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What we do
Family Literacy
A love of reading and reading for pleasure is one of the most powerful foundations for future success – it sparks imagination, builds confidence and has the power to transform the lives of children growing up in challenging circumstances.
Family Wellbeing
Helping our most vulnerable children build resilience and develop social and emotional skills is life-changing, and lays the foundation for a brighter, more successful future..
Early Years
Supporting parents and nurturing early childhood development in those critical first years lays the foundation for brighter futures and lasting impact.
Community
Being socially connected is a more important protective factor for mental wellbeing and life expectancy than employment or education level. Children who have access to community activities and social support have better educational outcomes and increased social skills.