Derry programme tackling food poverty a huge success

Last Thursday saw the launch of the 'Cooking Fun for the Whole Family' demonstration videos and recipe books, following the recent successful programme to tackle food poverty.

The programme was developed by Greater Shantallow Area Partnership and ETHOS Family Support Hub, thanks to the funding received from Derry City & Strabane District Council. It was facilitated by Sharron McCormick from Shape Your Life and was widely accessed by those across the Ballyarnet DEA.

The programme was run across six centres; Culmore Community Partnership, Galliagh Residents Association, Leafair Community Association, Shantallow Community Centre, Rainbow Child & Family Centre and Skeoge Community Hub.

The main target for the programme was to support families living in food poverty. With the cost of living crisis impacting everyone, we chose meals that were both nutritious and affordable for all.

720 family meals were provided in recipe packs, via the family support hub for those identified by the six centres as most in need.

As well as this, the cooking demonstrations were attended by 68 people who also went home with food tasters and samples of food to help their families on that day or to freeze for later.

When this project was created in conjunction with Shape Your Life, the idea was to create a legacy, long after the demonstrations were over, so that they could be availed of at any point when needed by families.

Many families have commented on how this has changed how they plan, prep and feed their family which in turn saves them money, time and with the added benefit of them being nutritious.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Sandra Duffy, said she was delighted to attend the launch and congratulated all those involved on their hard work.

“I would like to say a huge congratulations to everyone that has been involved in bringing this project to life, in the form of a cook book/video’s following the success of the Cooking Fun for the Whole Family programme.

“It has been fantastic to watch this go from strength to strength and now transform into a tangible book/video’s that people across so many different communities and backgrounds will benefit from for years to come.

“Whether it’s showing people how easy it is to make simple and nutritious meals, or teaching and encouraging children to get involved and develop their skills at a young age, this book/video is such a brilliant tool to bring into every-day family life. It is such a great idea and I really wish you all the best for the future.”

Rose McCrossan, Community Development Manager at Greater Shantallow Area Partnership commented: “We are absolutely delighted by the success of this programme. Our overall aim was that the families would start thinking differently about their cooking/buying habits to help target food poverty.

“We actually achieved much more than this because of the relationship with the facilitators from Shape Your Life, the questions asked and the pictures shared was an abundance of evidence that over 128 families have completely changed their approach to food in general.”

Sharron McCormick, from Shape Your Life, said: “We are privileged to be involved. We actually stepped in at the last minute and literally had a few days to pull everything together.

“We are extremely passionate about what we do and to see the impact on families, who were all local to the area, was amazing. We actually saw a huge shift in how those that were involved changed their food buying habits and also their cooking habits, in which they included all the family.

“This meant that they were eating food that was made from scratch, which was nutritious and very cost effective. We are so proud of all of them!”