ABRAHAM’S Kitchen has been given an extra £1,000 in grant funding by the town council to continue their food education project, ‘cook at home’.
The project sends out food and recipe bags every month to families and aims to encourage children and teens to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into the kitchen, learning basic but essential cooking and prep skills, learning about healthy eating, as well as creating opportunities for family time.
Founder of Abraham’s Kitchen, Julie Dyer said, “The extra funding we’ve received goes directly into finding the right kind of foods to go out with our recipe bags – the more funding we get simply means the longer we can continue to operate. We provide food bags for about 45 families in the town currently.
“We’ve had some absolutely gorgeous photos sent in of two four-year-old girls sat on the floor learning how to peel apples so they can make an apple pie – that’s exactly what this project is aiming to achieve.”
Abraham’s Kitchen originally planned to bring the community together for a free lunch in 2020, offering a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy a meal during the school holidays – but that all changed due to the lockdown restrictions.
The project has since developed into a food education project, with parcels being sent out every month full of fresh food and the recipes to make substantial, healthy meals from scratch.
The project currently has a budget of £500 per month, with staff taking the time to shop around for the best deals and recipes. Abraham’s Kitchen started off as a town council staff initiative and with more funding, the project can now continue until at least early 2022.
A document from Abraham’s Kitchen, which was given to the town council, updated councillors about the project and included feedback from the families involved, such as the following:-
“Family 2 – Three siblings approx. ages 17/10/7. Very excited to receive the delivery and I was greeted at the door by a very bouncy young boy shouting ‘what are we having for tea tonight’. He was very happy to hear it was it would be pizza! The children told me that they always cook what we provide and that the children help with chopping and slicing the ingredients as well as some of the cooking.
“When asked who does the washing up, they became quiet and said mum did it! Update from Aug 21: Julie spoke to mum about the project, and she confirmed that the family always cooks the recipe we give them and that parents ask the children to try anything new. Mum says her children are quite picky eaters, but they will try new tastes, with varying success.”
“Volunteer feedback – We have a volunteer who has been helping with deliveries in her local area since the start of the year. This lady lives on one of the new developments and works from home – even before Covid she had little contact with her neighbours and at times felt isolated. Since helping with Abraham’s Kitchen, she has got to know several other residents living nearby.
“This volunteer has built a good neighbourly relationship with Mum to one of the families who receive a monthly bag, and this mum has had a tough time throughout Covid and had become unemployed. Our volunteer was one of the first people this lady shared her good news with recently when she was offered a job.”
