Not-for-profit organisations cook up innovative project for Blyth families
06 Jun 2022 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
An innovative partnership between four not-for-profit organisations is helping families in South East Northumberland to live better, healthier lives.
The Rotary Club of Blyth has joined together with the Asda Foundation and Northumberland Communities Together to host a six-week long cookery workshop at the Briardale House Community Centre in Blyth for families to learn how to cook simple, cost-effective meals.
Nine families in total have benefited from the course, which was hosted by a professional tutor from Hadston House Youth and Community Projects - the charity which operates Briardale House.
Funding provided by all four charity partners was put towards the cost of ingredients and cooking utensils for participants to use during the lessons. At the final session, each family also received a goody bag containing a range of kitchen equipment including a slow cooker and a printed recipe booklet featuring the meals they’ve learned how to cook.
This is the fourth time that the Rotary Club of Blyth has operated a project like this to help provide individuals with the skills they need to feel confident in the kitchen.
Gerald Wallace, Past President of the Rotary Club of Blyth, explained: “The project originally began as an initiative specifically aimed at young carers - teenagers and young adults who have caring responsibilities for older or younger relatives, to give them a basic education in cookery. Following the success of this project, we wanted to identify other individuals who might benefit so we could roll the project out wider, which is where our partnerships with Northumberland Communities Together, the Asda Foundation and Hadston House began.”
From start to finish, the project has been a collaborative effort.
The Rotary Club and Northumberland Communities Together teams worked together to source support from the Asda Foundation to get the project off the ground. Hadston House then provided the venue and a tutor for the course, Antony Reay, who developed the recipe booklet which included only meals of high nutritional value which could be made using just a slow cooker or blender – a more energy-efficient method of cooking than using a traditional gas or electric oven.
Councillor Wendy Pattison, Cabinet Member for Adult Wellbeing, commented: “We were delighted to support the Rotary Club of Blyth with its cookery project. With the cost of living at its highest ever point, it’s vital that families have access to projects like this to ensure that they can continue to eat well.”
Diane Dinning, Community Champion at Asda Blyth, said: “We see the Asda Foundation as one of the many ways to give back to the communities that we serve. Thats why we lend a hand to the wide range of good causes helping to make a difference through a variety of projects locally.
“Supporting local groups that are on our doorstep like the Rotary Club of Blyth is really important to us - and we hope it will make a real difference within the local community in Blyth.”