Social mobility charity, Mayor’s Fund for London has announced a new partnership withChartwells, specialist provider of catering to the education sector, to support the Fund’s Kitchen Social programme.
Kitchen Social is a response to a wider national campaign tackling food insecurity in the school holidays, and the initiative gives young Londoners, on free school meals and from low-income families, a safe place to go where they can socialise and get a free healthy meal. The project supports children’s general mental and physical well-being, as well as teaching them life-skills. An additional package of training modules has also been developed for those delivering holiday provision to change long-term behaviour and build a sustainable infrastructure.
It is around this training support package that the new venture with Chartwells is based. Kicking off the partnership during the Spring half-term holiday last week, Chartwells’ team of experts volunteered culinary expertise and services in interactive cooking workshops at local Kitchen Social hubs: Lady Allen Adventure Playground, Wandsworth; Leaders in the Community, Tower Hamlets; Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre, Brent; Will Perrin Court Hostel, Rainham; Bollo Youth Centre, Ealing and St Luke’s Church, Hackney.
As a measure of their on-going commitment to become part of the solution in resolving holiday hunger, Chartwells will also support hubs throughout the year by delivering training for cooks and volunteers. This will incorporate nutrition, menu planning and shopping, recipe demonstrations, school food standards, kitchen management, budgeting and good practice. In addition, they will provide educational support on nutrition for young people attending hubs which will include hands on cookery sessions, healthy eating and take-away resources for families.
