Springing in to cooking

This Easter Branston is once again teaming up with GoGro CIC (Community Interest Company) to provide hands-on cookery workshops for children attending Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) sessions across Lincolnshire. 

Following on from the success of the ‘stretch your spuds’ workshops during last summer and Christmas HAF programmes, GoGro CIC has created another great selection of spud-based recipes that highlight the value and versatility of the nation’s favourite vegetable. A set of springtime recipe cards will be given out to all 3,500 children attending the programme and children at ten of the sessions will get hands-on cooking up some of the dishes.

Eamonn Hunt, co-director of GoGro CIC said: “We’ve had a brilliant reception at previous sessions, so we’re keen to continue our mission to pass on some essential cooking skills to as many people as possible. The HAF sessions are an ideal opportunity to engage with kids to help them learn more about creating healthy and cost-effective food for the whole family.

“As well as using economical ingredients, we’re helping the children and their families to consider a range of cooking methods that can save time and energy. We’re also looking at creative ways to use up leftovers and reduce food waste.”

Lincolnshire County Council is running the HAF programme over the Easter holidays, which supports children in the region who are eligible for free school meals. Feeding and entertaining children during the school holidays can be a cause for concern for families, so these sessions can provide a welcome opportunity for many.

The government-funded HAF programme supports thousands of children across the county, who are invited to attend fun activity sessions across 137 venues in Lincolnshire, including sports centres, community halls and schools.

Simon Telfer, HR director at Branston, said: “These cookery sessions have been so popular that we were delighted to be able to continue supporting them. Providing food education from a young age is important to help build healthier communities and with the increase in food and energy costs it’s more important than ever to look at ways of reducing food waste and finding economical ways to cook.

Simon added: “We’re pleased to have the involvement of Eamonn and Rob from GoGro to add their expertise and share their passion for healthy food. The aim of the sessions is to get kids interested in what they’re eating and give them the skills to turn simple spuds into tasty meals.”

The HAF programme is running Monday 3rd - Friday 14th April (excluding weekends and bank holidays) throughout the school holidays. It is accessible to any child aged between five and 16 years in receipt of free school meals or other benefits related to free school meals such as young carers and refugees. You can find further details at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/school-pupil-support/holiday-activities-food-programme.

To find out more about GoGro CIC visit www.gogro.org.uk

For further information on the HAF programme please email HAF@lincolnshire.gov.uk