The nutritional status of young people accessing Caius House (CH) is of great concern, with little or no effective interventions being delivered to promote healthy eating due to insufficient funding.
The community is increasingly falling victim to food insufficiency with no access to healthy food and the local high street littered with convenience chains offering little or no nutritional benefits, augmenting the already significant issues with health related to food. Furthermore, young people at CH have a lack of understanding of the effects that eating badly has on their bodies and minds. When we asked them, they were shocked to learn that children who do not receive the right nutrition are twice as likely to repeat a year in school and three times more likely to be permanently excluded from school.
At CH we effectively engage young people and encourage them to understand their place in the world and how they can help the community in which they live. But for many, it’s not just about peer pressure, although our members are three times more vulnerable to have a bad diet than their peers, it also comes down to nutritional poverty. Too many young people simply not understanding the importance of a healthy diet and how to support themselves will minimal budgets.
With your support we can work in partnership with the renowned community action group, Grub Club, who specialise in working with young people. Delivered over a year, the programme will:
- Help young people from the community to gain knowledge and confidence to make positive and lasting changes in their day to day food choices
- Provide home educational toolkits to help families live healthier lives
- Development of vital life skills to improve health and wellbeing in the young people
- Provide access to daily affordable nutritious meals
- Provide opportunities to develop employability skills as an apprentice chef or barista
The Grub Club Workshop Facilitators will be trained professionals having recognised qualifications in culinary arts and professional cookery. Many of them have worked in kitchens across London and bring depth of knowledge and understanding that will ensure success of the programme. The programme will work with an average of 12 young people during a 6-week programme, over a year.
“The Grub Club is a way of engaging our young people slightly differently, supporting us in narrowing the gap and really allowing us to engage with them in a different way.” Kuljit Rahelu, Head Teacher, Hornsey School for Girls