Published: Wednesday, 7th September 2022
Free food sessions to help King’s Lynn residents trying to make ends meet, due to increasing food costs, are to return from Friday 16 September 2022.
Lily, a service that is owned and managed by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, is organising the interactive sessions with partners Freebridge Housing Association and the College of West Anglia from funding received from The East Coast Community Fund.
‘Food for thought’ sessions will be held most Fridays between 9:30am and 11:30am at North Lynn’s Discovery Centre to help residents cook healthy and nutritious meals on a budget as well as tasting sessions and blind taste tests, comparing alternatives to some of the costly big brands.
West Norfolk residents will be able to take away skills that help them cook on a budget, find cheaper supermarket swaps, batch cook, make healthy 'fake-away' meals and learn how to make meals go further.
Sam Sandell, Cabinet member for people and communities at the borough council, said:
“It’s good to see these sessions return following the success of the previous 12-week course. The cost of living will affect many of our residents over the coming months. These free to attend sessions mean that people can drop-in to them occasionally and pick up handy tips about how to cook healthy and tasty food without breaking the bank.
“The weekly two-hour sessions are flexible, if you only have half an hour spare please pop in, grab a coffee and take advantage of the advice being offered.”
Sophie Bates, Director of Customer and Communities at Freebridge Community Housing, added:
“Earlier this year Freebridge published our first Neighbourhood Plan – the North Lynn Community Plan – which outlines a number of commitments we have made to help improve the health and wellbeing of residents in North Lynn.
“Through the plan, we have agreed actions that we can deliver together with our partners to achieve significant and meaningful benefits for the community, and the work we’re doing with Lily, the borough council and the College of West Anglia is a great example of this."
Stacey Martin, Catering Lecturer at the College of West Anglia, who is cooking and sharing advice at the sessions said:
“The aim of these sessions is to help people budget better, eat healthier, learn a new skill whilst providing an opportunity for people in their local community to meet. We welcome people in the community to come and join us to cook, chat, taste and share recipes with one another."
Free sessions take place for 12 weeks on the following Fridays from 9.30am to 11.30am. There’s no need to book in advance, just turn up.
- 16/9/22 - Breakfast
- 23/9/22 - Lunches
- 30/9/22 - Dinners
- 7/10/22 - Homemade snacks
- 14/10/22 - Nutritional content
- 4/11/22 - Supermarket swaps
- 11/11/22 - Batch cooking
- 18/11/22 - Dietary alternatives
- 25/11/22 - Low calorie cooking
- 2/12/22 - Low cost desserts
- 9/12/22 - Fake-away meals
- 16/12/22 - Seasonal savings
For more information please either email asklily@west-norfolk.gov.uk or telephone Lily on 01553 616200.
Who are Lily?
Lily helps people who are feeling lonely or isolated by supporting them to connect to organisations that can help in the area. Find out more from their website: asklily.org.uk
Lily has a strong focus on community development, by:
- Helping groups to arrange activities and encouraging volunteering.
- Providing small grants to community groups.
Providing support for employers, schools, and colleges to help them tackle loneliness.