SIGBI, SI Lisburn and District (Northern Ireland) – Cooking

Project Skills:
In 2018 President Beverly McClean identified further need within the local Foodbank, cooking classes and she trained to become a tutor. The Club then raised £1000 to provide 13 cookery stations for the Foodbank Cookery School, which she established and clients were invited to attend sessions participating in easy cooking tasks using donated items from the Foodbank. Beverly continues to provide tuition at the Foodbank and during Covid-19 made several videos so that clients can access them online.

The Project is growing. In the beginning about eight clients took part but others have now attended through word of mouth recommendation. Clients are mostly women, but men are now participating in the classes. Participants are learning, sometimes for the first time, to cook meals more economically and with better nutrition for themselves and their families. Their confidence has grown and friendships and support have been created amongst the clients. Additional interaction is provided and clients learned that dishes could taste differently even with the same recipe. Some clients did not speak English and had been reluctant to integrate because of this. These classes gave them confidence to also take up English classes and accessing budgeting tutorials which were provided at the Foodbank. This helped to empower clients to regain further control in their lives.