A community initiative based around food ran a holiday camp providing cooking skills and a full meal during the Easter holidays for children from Axminster primary schools.
Everyone enjoyed the week-long scheme, run by Project Food, and the feedback has been extremely positive, giving parents some relief as the Easter holidays can be a time of pressure for so many.
One parent said: “It was a great week, absolutely fantastic as I was working full-time from home during the week, but even if I hadn’t been it would still have been a great resource.
“The variety of different activities was brilliant, most other local clubs offer only sports or just forest school, and the variety really meant that my kids enjoyed every day. The staff were brilliant, with the kids coming home talking about what they had done and how they had been helped!"
The children worked with a range of foods, and some even tried new foods they hadn’t tasted before, all whilst learning new practical skills about making nutritious cooking fun.
A Project Food spokesman said: “We made some very messy things like grated beetroot and chocolate muffins, but everyone found that eating the morning's work together for lunch was very rewarding.”
Project Food members heard that lots of the children have since made the recipes at home with their families, so it was great to know that the skills were being put into practice and enjoyed together.
A spokesman added: “Nutritious food is at the centre of what Project Food does, because when you improve your diet, both your physical and mental health also get a chance to get better. Project Food has been providing free services in Axminster and East Devon for the last 15 years, giving the opportunity for increased skills, knowledge, confidence and motivation in relation to food and other areas of life.
“Soon we will be opening the doors again, on our new premises at Axminster hospital, so if you are interested in joining a cooking session or getting one-to-one dietary support please get in touch.”
Project Food said a huge thanks to all who came along, to Devon County Council for funding this project and to Seaton Wetlands, California Fitness, Sporting Chance and Pippins Community Centre for working with them.
“Project Food would also like to thank Axminster Hospital and NHS Property Services for our wonderful new premises where the holiday club was run from. The project was run as part of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme with funding from the Department for Education. The aim was to provide healthy food and enriching activities to children eligible for free school meals during the holidays.”