The Peterborough Think Communities Fund.was created to help communities to support themselves, and support active, healthy communities. Thera East Anglia have partnered with the fund to enable them to support people with a learning disability to gain greater independence in shopping and cooking – and enjoy the psychological and physical benefits a healthy diet can bring. In the longer term, equipping people with skills such as these will reduce the burden on overworked emergency and health services as people are better able to care for themselves.
The Shop, Cook, Eat! project will benefit 18 people currently supported by Thera East Anglia in Peterborough to learn how to plan, purchase, and prepare healthy meals. By being involved with the project, the participants will develop new skills, which will help them to live with a greater degree of independence.
Shop, Cook, Eat! will have four different sections to the session. Following an introduction where people will find out what they will be preparing, participants will be given a budget and visit the local shops, where they will be supported to read prices, to find where items are located, and to know what the best value items are.
For the third part, participants will cook the ingredients they have bought for the session. We will support people to follow the recipe, and to use the right equipment safely and hygienically. Participants also have the option to gain a qualification in Food Hygiene from the course.
Finally, participants will be able to eat the yummy food they’ve prepared! Staff will support people to identify what worked well in their meal, and what didn’t. There will then also be follow up support to provide next step options if the participant is interested in learning more.
Thank you to the Peterborough Think Communities Fund for funding the Shop, Eat, Cook! project, enabling people with a learning disability to learn new skills and to become more independent.