A FOODBANK FIRST INTRODUCING VIRTUAL COOKING CLASSES

During the lockdowns of 2021/22, Foodbank was unable to head into schools and hold face-toface cooking classes, which was initially a challenge for our team, the schools, and their families. The Cooking Class program team rose to the challenge, pivoting to an online delivery model with cooking teachers hosting classes via Microsoft Teams from a bespoke mobile kitchen installed at our warehouse in Yarraville. While there was substantial work involved in migrating to online classes, many of our schools –already under considerable stress from managing online classes and supporting entire student bodies away from the classroom – recognised the importance of maintaining cooking classes for their families.

Despite the challenges, our online learning model was very wellreceived. We were able to engage with families in a meaningful way and provide them with valuable support during an extremely stressful and uncertain time, including the continuation of weekly food hampers.

Lockdowns made a significant dent in our ability to reach our program performance targets, so we hired more staff members and made more resources available to make up for lost ground.

Being forced to switch from conducting the cooking classes in-person to holding them online during COVID-19 provided us with valuable insights. One of these has been adding pictorial versions of all twenty recipes to our resource kits.

Now, not only can kids follow the recipes, but those with low literacy or those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can feel more confident in taking part in the classes.

Parents attempting to wrangle toddlers and babies during the classes also welcomed the switch to an online model. Feedback from other participants told us that remote learning was a better solution for their learning style or circumstances.

For many, being in their home environment made the learning process far more enjoyable and relaxing; allowing them to get more from the program. We are planning to film our cooking classes to provide an online option for families who can’t attend in person.

There is so much we’ve learned over this financial year. By listening and catering to the needs of the people that we work with, we’ve been inspired to continue making our cooking classes as inclusive, enjoyable, and as much fun as possible.

A FRESH PARTNERSHIP