What we do and why we do it
Empowering people to make better food choices by learning to cook tasty, cheap and healthy meals together.
When I started Food etc in September 2022 I had a vision although I didn’t really know how it would evolve. My research had determined that there were no other organisations locally, or to the best of my knowledge nationally, that were offering cookery workshops showing people how to cook cheap and healthy meals from scratch within a variety of settings. And, so far, I still haven’t identified any.
I started at our first primary school with a course for parents and children focussing on alternatives to takeaways. Seeing the fun that the children had, how cooking together tempted them to try new foods and the way in which attaining new skills impacted their confidence started to convince me that the concept of preparing and eating meals in a group would bring benefits far beyond what I had originally conceived.
Our first volunteer joined in October and now we have a team of 30 people with a wide variety of experience, talents and personalities all drawn together with one simple aim: to empower people to make better food choices by equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to prepare nutritious, cost-effective meals for themselves and their families. I am constantly amazed by our volunteers’ enthusiasm and their ideas for helping us to develop what we do as we learn and think about more people who could benefit from eating better and learning how to do it in groups. They’re the drivers behind creating new courses for older people, for using food to improve mental health and for foster families and others.
While of course what we do has food at its core, it also brings people together in a unique way enabling them to share quality time uninterrupted by other people or phones. And in turn it brings a whole host of mental and physical health benefits by empowering people to take more control over aspects of their lives.
Schools also tell us that our cookery workshops bring in the hard to reach. After attending our courses, parents who have not previously engaged with schools have started to do so, improving both their relationships with teachers and their children’s attendance rates.
We recently started at our 18th school and continue to work with a variety of different local community groups and charities including Family Hubs, nursery schools, King’s Arms Project, Bedford Women’s Centre, Bedford Foodbank and IMPAKT to name a few.
We are indebted to our funders who range from national food retailers to local grant giving bodies and councils as well as companies who have identified the importance of our work and donate as part of their CSR and social value activities.
Food etc has an exciting future. The opportunities to empower people to make better food choices both locally and further afield will continue to grow and develop and I really look forward to helping this happen with a great team of people, stakeholders and partners.
Julie Clay Founder and Director
“While of course what we do has food at its core, it also brings people together in a unique way enabling them to share quality time uninterrupted by other people or phones.”
Why I joined
Jennie became involved with Food etc back in 2022, during our early days, and was one of the very first volunteers to join our team.
I’ve always believed in giving back to my community, but with three children and a job, finding the time was a challenge. After registering with CVS Bedford to explore volunteer opportunities, I received an email from Julie, and we quickly arranged to meet. The moment she shared her vision for Food etc, I knew it was something I wanted to be part of.
Cooking has always been a passion of mine, and I was all too aware that fundamental cooking skills are in decline as well as there being a high level of food poverty in and around Bedford. Many schools no longer prioritise these skills, and in today’s fast-paced world, many families rely on ultra-processed foods for convenience, and we are now learning the serious implications this has for our nation’s health. While I couldn’t change the entire picture, I knew I could help teach people how to cook healthier meals efficiently - this was something I could do to make a difference.
My first volunteer experience was at a school in Kempston, where I taught children how to make their favourite ‘fast foods’ at home from scratch using healthy, cheap ingredients. Initially, many of the children were shy and hesitant in the kitchen. But within a few weeks, their confidence had grown - they were trying recipes at home and even building confidence by reading aloud during sessions. Parents also joined in, and it was so rewarding to see families spending time away from screens, creating meals, and enjoying them together. Watching the change you can create in just 6 weeks really cemented the need for this and the changes we could create.
As our team expanded, I took on more responsibilities, including onboarding new volunteers and helping to develop our courses. As demand grew, we evolved our programs to target specific groups and address their unique needs. One area I’m particularly passionate about is mental health, which led to the creation of our Mood Food course. This course focuses on helping people understand the powerful connection between what we eat and how it affects our brain and gut. By teaching participants how to use food to support their mental well-being, we offer practical tools for improving both physical and emotional health. Seeing the positive impact this course has had on people’s lives brings me so much joy. It’s a course that we’d love now to take into businesses to highlight the difference good nutrition can make to performance.
Today, my role within Food etc has grown even further, and I’m now a non-exec director as well. It’s been an incredible journey, and I feel fortunate to not only teach people about food but also help shape the future of a CIC that I care so deeply about. I hope this highlights that you can make a meaningful difference in your community, no matter how busy life gets.
Volunteering doesn’t have to take up all your time - sometimes, just sharing your passion in small but impactful ways can create lasting change.
“I feel fortunate to not only teach people about food but also help shape the future of a CIC that I care so deeply about.”
Why we are needed
Bedford is a multi-cultural town that comprises some very affluent and some very disadvantaged areas.
Obesity is a health issue in Bedford, with Public Health England (PHE) data suggesting that around 62% of adults in the area are overweight or obese.1
Obesity was a factor in nearly 4,800 hospital admissions in Bedford in 2019/20.²
Four areas in Bedford are among the 10% most deprived nationally. Food etc focuses most of our efforts on these areas as obesity prevalence in the most deprived 10% of areas in England is more than twice that in the least deprived 10%.
The world’s largest review of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) found a direct association to 32 harmful effects to health including higher risks of cancer, heart disease and early death.3
There is also evidence from tightly controlled clinical trials that UPFs are linked to increased energy intake –around 500 extra calories per day, coupled with increased hunger.
The prevalence of obesity doubles between reception and year 6 (from around 10% to around 20%) which is why Food etc concentrates on partnering with nursery and primary schools in Bedford Borough to establish healthy cooking and eating habits in early life.4
“The primary curriculum is so ridiculously jam packed with content, that we can’t manage to cook regularly, to repeat and revisit skills, and to embed them in the way, for example, that we make children repeat their times tables day in day out! And yet they will need to use these cooking skills daily - possibly more often than their times tables, if we are honest...”
Headteacher’s comment
Sources
1 Bedford Borough Council
2 The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) April 2024
3 Office for Health Improvement and Disparities report Obesity Profile May 2024
4 British Medical Journal February 2024
In September 2024 Food etc undertook a survey with headteachers and family support workers from primary schools in Bedford which asked them for their views on teaching about healthy eating and cooking meals within the current national curriculum.
The survey results included:
85% of respondents do not think the national curriculum currently teaches basic cooking skills
Over three-quarters of respondents do not think it teaches children how to make better food choices for their health and budget
Almost 1 in 4 think that no subjects cover nutrition and healthier eating adequately
Almost 70% believe that healthy eating and cooking skills should be a standalone subject in all years
“A significant issue for us is that pupils can tell you what a healthy meal is, and how to ensure a healthy balanced meal, but the reality of their lives means they don’t often get to ‘live’ their learning. That, however, is not a solution that the curriculum can currently provide. That is why the work Food etc does with parents and children together is so powerful. ”
Headteacher’s comment
Food etc timeline
September 2022
Started at our first primary school
January 2023
Ran our first course at King’s Arms Project’s new home in Harpur Street
November 2022
First corporate sponsor to support Food etc as part of their social value
May 2023
December 2023
Chosen by a local company to be their designated charity
First project in Central Beds with young carers
March 2024
Established partnership with School Food Matters to bring vegetable gardens to schools
February 2024
Commissioned by Bedford Borough Council’s Family Hubs
May 2024
Ran our first Mood Food course at Bedford Women’s Centre
July 2024
Voted Bedford Business of the Year at SME Bedford Business Awards
October 2024
Started at our 18th school
April 2024
Collaboration with Bedford Blues Foundation to work with teenage girls
June 2024
Commissioned by Central Bedfordshire Council to run HAF courses
August 2024
Funding received through Bedford Borough Council Food Matters grant
November 2024
Our 30th volunteer joined the team
How you can help us
We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to make a difference in the community in and around Bedford and inspire more people to love to cook, shop and eat better.
Volunteer your time
There is huge demand for our cookery workshop courses where we teach people how to cook tasty, nutritious and cheap meals from scratch. So we are always looking for volunteers to join our team to help deliver them.
You don’t need any formal qualifications, you just need:
• A passion for cooking and healthy eating
• Confidence to talk in front of groups of varying ages
• Availability to run workshops for 1.52 hours plus the prep time before and after. The times of the day and days of the week vary, but you only need to commit to once per week (although if you would like to do more that would be great of course). We are very flexible on this and happy to work around your schedule as much as we are able. We do ask you to commit to a complete course (which is usually 6 consecutive weeks) although if you need back up we will arrange this when required.
Food etc provides All equipment
• Food Hygiene Level 2 training
• DBS check
• Mentoring and guidance
Corporate support
We work with companies in a variety of ways including:
• Sponsoring our courses
• Providing volunteers to deliver cookery workshops, provide business mentoring, public speaking on our behalf or something else
• Staff fundraising to support our work
• Running team building cookery workshops for their teams
Spread the word
• Follow us on social media and engage with our content
• Tell individuals and other organisations about our work
• Invite us to talk to your staff, suppliers or clients
“We really do appreciate everyone who has put their time and effort into making these courses happen for families as they really are amazing. Me and my son have both enjoyed taking part and we have learnt so many new healthy recipes.”
Parent from Bedford Primary School
Our funders, partners and supporters include
What other people say about us
“Food etc brought Incredible success into the school. We have thoroughly enjoyed it. The children and parents who have taken part in the Food etc programme consistently voiced just how important it had been for them in terms of bonding, enjoying the experience with their children, success and how that feels. We desperately want them to come back.”
Caron Brown, Head Teacher, Wilstead Primary School
“Having Food etc here has been brilliant for the relationships between the children and their parents and it’s been lovely to see them develop and have time dedicated just to them.”
Wendy Burnett, Looked After and Disadvantaged Pupils Lead, Wootton Lower School
“Our clients have massively benefited from the cooking experience with Food etc. They have learned to eat healthily and it has inspired some of the clients to cook creatively for themselves at home. The staff from Food etc are fantastic at bringing fun as well as recipes with them as they enter the building!”
Luke Clements, Learning and Engagement Co-ordinator, King’s Arms Project
“Ensuring our school families have access to the resources and knowledge to have a healthy diet, especially in such financially challenging times, is one of the most significant ways we can make sure pupils can learn effectively. No child can be expected to be fully functioning in their learning if they do not have the energy, alertness and good health to underpin this. A huge thank you to Food etc for this foresight & philosophy.”
Juliet Fraser, Head Teacher Priory Primary School
“This 6 week course has been wonderful. Me and my girls have enjoyed learning how to make things from scratch, spending time together and how to safely chop veg/fruit etc. It has encouraged me and my little family to try new foods and use fresh ingredients. We will miss coming to the cooking group, it has been fun. Thank you! ”
Parent from Peter Pan Nursery School
Please get in touch if you are interested in volunteering with us or your organisation/clients would benefit from the cookery workshops we provide. We can deliver our services in a variety of ways so let’s talk!
Contact: https://foodetc.org.uk hello@foodetc.org.uk 07970 115181 Food etc Bedford