Many of our clients struggle with basic cooking skills, so volunteer Elaine has come to the rescue with her cooking workshops.
Recalling happy memories of being taught to cook by our parents or grandparents is something many of us take for granted. The young people we support have often come from difficult backgrounds, where being shown how to cook has just not been possible. Breakdowns in family relationships or growing up in care often mean that our clients start their journey towards independence with few basic skills.
We can provide the support needed to secure accommodation, whether that be on a temporary or more permanent basis. We can provide a food parcel to tide young people over until their benefits are in place or they secure employment. We can source funding to provide furniture and white goods, including cookers and fridges. However, what is often missing are the skills to live independently, such as the ability to cook a healthy meal.
This is where our workshops come in. Run by Elaine, who has a background in teaching catering in further education settings, our workshops aim to teach our clients a range of cookery skills, often using items readily available in our food bank.
Elaine said that “the workshops benefit both individuals and families, as I have worked with several mums with young children. It’s great to help them learn about healthy eating while developing a skill for life.”
Our aim is always to support young people to live independently, so that they have the skills and confidence to progress in their lives. Due to some recent funding, we were therefore delighted to be able to gift the attendees of the workshops a slow cooker, so that they can continue to develop their skills at home.
We are so grateful to Elaine and all of our other volunteers for giving up their time to support our work with local young people. We are also incredibly grateful for all the donations to our food bank, which mean that young people facing hardship don’t have to go hungry.
If you would like to donate to our foodbank, Hanover House in Bromsgrove is open Monday to Friday 9am – 4pm to accept donations. Keep an eye on our social media for our most up to date wish list, but as a guide we are always in need of long life milk and tinned meals, but we don’t currently need baked beans, soup or fresh items.