Kitchen on Prescription – new healthy eating cookery course for local families
A new cookery course in Knowle West is hoping to ease the strain on the health service – by teaching families to cook and eat more healthily.
The free pilot six-week course is running at the Square Food Foundation at The Park from mid April – and is for families with children aged seven to 16 who are overweight.
It is part of a research project being run by Portland Centre for Integrative Medicine, Bristol University and Kitchen On Prescription (KOP), a Bristol-based food education partnership.
KOP Project Manager Helen Cooke explains: “What makes Kitchen on Prescription (KOP) courses unique is that GPs and other healthcare professionals will soon be able to refer people to them free of charge…
“The people who have participated in Kitchen on Prescription courses have gained a lot from them and have carried on making changes to their lives months after the course ended.
“If people learn how to eat well as a family, it is thought they’re more likely to carry on cooking and eating more healthily. The skills of cooking healthy foods can then pass on through the generations…”
She says the course teaches families to cook some simple, healthy meals which they can easily re-create at home in a ‘friendly and supportive environment’.
Families will be asked to attend a one hour focus group first – which will help shape the content of the course.
It is hoped that Kitchen on Prescription will be eventually rolled out across Bristol – with healthcare professionals referring people on to the course with the aim of improving health.
The first class at The Park in Daventry Road starts on 13 April from 4-6pm and sessions will run on Wednesday afternoons for a total of 6 weeks with a follow up session on 15 June.
Anyone interested in taking part should contact Ava Lorenc: ava.lorenc@portlandcentrehealthcare.co.uk 07952 566175 or call the Square Food Foundation on 0117 904 6679, or email info@squarefoodfoundation.co.uk
For more details see https://vimeo.com/131880616
