Warwickshire residents are invited to learn more about Warwickshire County Council’s Kind Communities Kind Food events.
Warwickshire residents who would like to find out how to eat more healthily, in ways that are affordable, and contribute to the environment in more sustainable ways, are invited to learn more about Warwickshire County Council’s (WCC) Kind Communities Kind Food events.
Kind Communities Kind Food is a County Council-led community engagement programme that provides live cooking demonstrations and free information about how to adopt healthier lifestyles as well as other food-related community support. At least seven of these types of events have already been delivered within the past year.
The most recent Kind Communities Kind Food event took place on Saturday 21 September at The Harbour Centre in Bedworth, organised by WCC’s Community Partnerships Service and the Equality & Inclusion Partnership (EQuIP), in collaboration with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.
At the event, over fifty visitors enjoyed three cooking demonstrations by Sheela Hammond and James Morrison, who are both Warwickshire Food Champions volunteers, and Dominika Stockham from WCC’s Community Partnerships Service team. The demonstrations showed how to prepare easy-to-make and affordable dishes and provided the opportunity for attendees to pick-up free recipe cards and sample some of the meals created.
Junaid Hussain, CEO of the Equality and Inclusion Partnership (EQuIP) also delivered a talk to explain the benefits of using slow cookers. At the end of the event sixteen slow cookers, kindly donated by Daryl Garner, the Store Manager at Argos (Gallagher Retail Park branch), were given out for free to attendees who wished to start slow-cooking meals themselves.
Notable visitors at this event included the Leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Cllr Chris Watkins, Deputy Leader Cllr Jill Sheppard, and Cllr Tim Jenkins.
The Kind Communities Kind Food events are also a great opportunity for organisations working across the county to share useful information with residents. Organisations in attendance this time included Think Active, who provided free sports clothing and kit to attendees; representatives from the Harbour Centre team; Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (WCAVA); Warwickshire Rural Community Council (WRCC); Warwickshire Police; and WCC’s Community Partnership Service and Food Champion volunteers.
Cllr Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture, said:
“The Kind Communities Kind Food events are a great initiative that support the wider work of the Warwickshire Food Strategy, providing free cooking demonstrations as well as support and resources to create opportunities for people to live happier, healthier, and more independent lives.
“It's great to see so many people coming together to learn more about healthy food and well-being changes, and I encourage residents to attend these free events which promote ways to enjoy healthier diets across the county which are affordable and sustainable”.
The Kind Communities Kind Food events contribute towards the wider work of the Warwickshire Food Strategy 2023-26, which has been developed by the Warwickshire Food Forum partnership.
The Strategy focuses on providing better access to affordable and healthy food, raising awareness and education about healthy food choices, and promoting sustainable food to help reduce carbon emissions and support biodiversity.
To learn more, visit the Warwickshire Food Strategy webpages on SearchOut Warwickshire.
For residents in need of food or other cost-of-living support, visit www.costoflivingwarwickshire.co.uk.
First photo (from left to right): Cllr Tim Jenkins, Cllr Chris Watkins, Sheela Hammond and James Morrison (both Food Champions) and Mike Slemensek.