Dorset food charity cooking up a storm thanks to National Lottery cash boost

Older people across Dorset are using the power of cooking to make new connections in the community and beat social isolation during the Coronavirus crisis - thanks to the work of a local charity and a cash boost from The National Lottery Community Fund.

The charity, Friendly Food Club uses cooking lessons as a tool to support local residents. It adapted quickly to lockdown by cooking and delivering hot meals and ‘Family COOKBOXES’ for vulnerable people in the community, with a focus on helping young families in crisis. Originally serving around 40 families, demand quickly rose to over 200.

Now Friendly Food Club has received an £11,800 grant from The National Lottery Community Fund - the largest funder of community activity in the UK - it is widening its offer by developing a new scheme, ‘Seniors COOKBOXES’, for older people in the local community.

The ‘Seniors COOKBOXES’ provide the ingredients and recipes to make a simple nutritious meal, suitable for older residents, which require minimal cooking facilities. The packs also contain activities to encourage older people at risk of loneliness to reach out and connect with friends and neighbours.

Sally Brown, Tutor at Friendly Food Club said: “Whether it’s revisiting some of their favourite recipes and showing their culinary skills off to friends and neighbours, putting together special ‘War Time’ recipes, taking part in quizzes, or getting support around social media – the Seniors COOKBOXES are designed to help older people overcome the challenges posed by the crisis.

“Crucially, they are delivered by a smiling, friendly face each week – which helps to tackle social isolation, a growing issue for older people in the community.

“We’re delighted our work has been recognised in this way - and we’d like to thank National Lottery players, who make all of the funding possible.”

Not only do the COOKBOXES help with nutrition and social isolation, they also contain useful information for older people - offering advice around issues like scams, keeping warm, and the welfare benefits system.

Charities and community groups across the South West have been awarded more than £2.4 million of National Lottery funding since the beginning of June – providing crucial support to overcome challenges caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

This vital funding is being distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund. Over £21 million of National Lottery funding has been awarded to more than 750 projects in England since the beginning of June.

Tom McCulloch, Head of Funding for the South West at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “The National Lottery is playing a critical role in supporting people, projects and communities during these challenging times. Groups such as Friendly Food Club are making an amazing contribution to the community-level response. We’re incredibly grateful for their dedication and the hard work of thousands of projects across the UK – we’re humbled by their efforts and delighted that our funding is able to help.”

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Last year we awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, and supported over 14,000 projects to turn their great ideas into reality and make a difference in their communities.

Across all of the National Lottery distributors, £600 million has been made available to support communities throughout the UK during the coronavirus outbreak. Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for the UK’s good causes, and £41 billion has been distributed to 565,000 good causes across the UK since 1994.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk