East Suffolk Council

Posted by on 18 August 2021 | Comments

Older people living in East Suffolk are invited to attend free cooking workshops to learn new cooking skills and recipes in a relaxed social setting.

The cooking workshops has been funded through the Interreg’s European Regional Development Fund and is being delivered in a partnership between East Suffolk Council, Suffolk County Council and Food Savvy.

Hosted by Chef Emma Crowhurst, the aim of the workshops is to help older people get more ‘food savvy’, so they can cook easy, nutritious and affordable meals at home, whilst in a relaxed social setting, where they can meet new people and make new connections.

Participants will also have the opportunity to meet link-workers from Connected Communities, which is a project designed to help older people who are feeling socially isolated and lonely to access health and well-being facilities and linking them to existing social and community groups.

There are four workshops to choose from, all starting at 10am and finishing at approx. 2.30pm:

• 19 August at Dennington Village Hall
• 20 August at Wickham Market Village Hall
• 9 September at Hollesley Village Hall
• 10 September at The Burness Parish Rooms, Melton

If you, or someone who know could benefit from attended one of these sessions, please call 07385 415180 or email louise.carter@eastsuffolk.gov.uk

Cllr Letitia Smith, East Suffolk Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Leisure and Tourism, said:

“We know that many older people have been struggling during the pandemic, feeling more isolated and lonelier, and whilst these cooking workshops are ultimately about learning new skills, they are also about meeting new people. So not only will participants learn new, easy recipes they can use to cook healthy and affordable meals at home, they will also have a great opportunity to make new connections, maybe even friends!”.

Cllr Andrew Reid, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Public Protection and Communities at Suffolk County council, said:

“These events are part of a wider programme called Connected Communities, which is running across rural areas of East Suffolk for the next two years. The initiative is aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of older people by providing local community-based services. Often older residents of Suffolk find access to services very difficult due to several factors, including mobility and transport limitations. This is a great opportunity to bring people together in their local area and we hope that the draw of Emma running the events, with her background in professional cooking and tv appearances, will surely generate a lot of interest.”