Sample Project "Cook4Life"

Partners:
NHS Bristol

The Brief
Under the banner of the Change4Life campaign, the brief was to design and deliver a pilot series of healthy eating and cookery skills courses for parents of under 4's; to increase the number of family meals cooked from scratch and to decrease reliance on ready prepared and processed foods as well as generally to increase understanding of healthy eating guidelines.

What We Did
Cooking skills were to be taught in a practical fun way with the aim of changing eating patterns for the better and empowering participants to build their confidence in preparing and cooking foods as part of a supportive group.

It was necessary to include elements of shopping, budgeting and healthy eating theory. On completion of the course participants were offered the opportunity to undertake a basic food hygiene course.

The focus was on five of the eight behaviours from the Change4Life programme

• Sugar swaps
• Meal times
• Snack check
• Me size meals
• 5 a day

Objectives

• To increase confidence and skills in preparing and cooking a range of healthy nutritious meals and snacks.
• To provide an opportunity to learn new cooking skills that can be replicated at home.
• To increase consumption of fruit and vegetables by modifying recipes to include extra vegetables and/or fruit.
• To improve knowledge and understanding of what a healthy balanced diet means and how to read food labels.
• To reduce unhealthy snacking patterns.
• To enable participants to make informed decisions on 'sugar swaps'.

The Results
The course was rolled out to eight Children's Centres in Bristol, with a full take up in almost every setting. A staff member from each centre was invited to participate and train alongside the trainer with the purpose of their being able to continue similar work in the future. This created a more sustainable project. Over 100 parents attended the courses and asked for further courses.