The Friendly Food Club

The Friendly Food Club changes lives and creates healthier futures. We support people from vulnerable groups across Dorset by building their cooking skills, confidence and resilience, to help break the cycle of food insecurity and low wellbeing. When you sit down for a meal tonight, thousands of people across Dorset can’t share in what you’re about to enjoy. Over 380,000 people are at medium to high risk of food insecurity across Dorset and BCP and another 90,000 are experiencing acute food poverty. The impacts of food insecurity and food poverty are felt far beyond the kitchen. In the short term, hungry children are unable to concentrate at school, while adult parents may skip meals to feed their children. Families experience a diet that is monotonous and may be harmful to health. Food education plays a critical role in addressing food insecurity. It can’t decrease food prices or increase income for a family experiencing acute food poverty. But building cooking skills and nutritional knowledge helps to lift families out of food insecurity and build a buffer against sliding into food poverty. We bring vulnerable people together to cook, learn, connect and flourish. “I had no idea... I didn’t know where to start. I’ve learned how to put ingredients together to make things taste good. The guidance and the recipes have actually helped me to balance my diet. If you have no idea, like me, I’d really recommend The Friendly Food Club” We deliver our own sessions, partner with community partners, housing associations and local authorities, and train other community organisations to run their own cooking activities. We combine the right skills with a curious, listening attitude that ensures we direct our work to where it’s needed, and we evolve our offering as local needs change. •84% agree that they learned new cooking skills •76% agree that they have tried something new •73% agree that they felt motivated to make changes to their diet.