South London young people cook up a storm

During the next five weeks over 24 children from south London will be taking part in a series of practical cooking lessons. The Cook and Eat workshops on St Martins estate in Lambeth will give young people aged 7 – 14 years old the practical cooking skills they need to cook nutritious and tasty meals.

The five week long programme, which is run by Metropolitan Housing Trust London , gives children from the estate the opportunity to learn about basic food hygiene, healthy ingredients and recipes. The workshops will demonstrate that cooking can be fun and raise awareness of the importance of a healthy diet.

Courney Tomilson, age 7, who lives on the estate, and who has recently completed five weeks of classes says: ‘It’s good learning how to cook. I never knew how to cook before but now I can.’ He added: ‘I’ll try to cook if my mum lets me in the kitchen.’

Aakhiru Mentor, age 11 says of the workshop: ‘I’m glad I did it; I would have been either on the streets or sitting at home doing nothing. I learnt a lot about healthy eating and cooking.’

Serena Travis, Well-being Project Coordinator for MHT London, says of the workshop: ‘We want to equip the young people with fundamental skills and confidence when it comes to being in the kitchen.’

She adds: ‘By showing children of this age cooking is fun we can influence their eating habits now and hopefully into their adult lives.’

Mandy Keene, Health Promotion Specialist says ‘We are delighted to be working in partnership with MHT working to support healthy lifestyles on St Martins. We know that healthy eating is a cornerstone to good health. Learning to cook not only equips young people with valuable practical skills; it also helps them to understand nutrition and healthy eating in a practical way.’

The workshops are part of the Lambeth Healthy Lives Project and Community Regeneration and will take place at St Martins Community Centre on Wednesdays from 4pm – 6pm.

The St Martins Programme funded by Lambeth Community Health Services and is a partnership between Lambeth Community Health and MHT London.

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Metropolitan Housing Partnership
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