Over the last 6 months, Lewes District Food Partnership have awarded grants to local groups fighting food insecurity by building community capacity. In this guest blog, Guy from the Russell Martin Foundation shares how the funding has impacted the young people they work with.
The grant
money has been so very well received. It
has enabled us to develop our food programme, increase the students’ hands on
opportunities in both understanding a healthy diet and practically learning
wonderful life skills. Our project works with a cohort of eighteen students at
a time, over an intense twelve week period.
These children have been referred by their secondary schools to access
our support. Our aim is to re-stimulate
them into learning in a variety of different ways.
One of the
tools we use is food and food education. Using the grant we have been in a
position to engage them in the process of making wholesome meals from scratch
and to support them in learning creatively about the art of preparing food. The children have enjoyed preparing and
serving a variety of meals. The journey
they have been on has enabled them to use ingredients that they may not have
necessarily cooked with before and for some was a completely new experience. From comfort food like bolognaises, lasagnas,
cowboy pie to homemade pizza’s they have turned their hand to many meals. We have also been able to make sponges,
cupcakes and Easter cornflake cakes!
It has been
a joy to share this journey with them, to see their confidence develop and to
watch them proudly eating meals that they have been involved in preparing.
