Interview: Helping mothers to learn how to cook healthily

But as Louise Brown learns how to make blueberry muffins, all she wants to know is how to feed her children cheap, nutritious meals with no thought to a Michelin star. At her side is her buddy and mentor, Andrea Smith, who is helping the single mother of two young girls.

It is all part of a pilot scheme to help what are being called the "forgotten families" in Calderdale, to learn how to provide healthy

food on a budget, with the aim of reducing the amount of fast food, ready meals and low quality food they eat.

Many of the families are from deprived backgrounds, often lacking in basic cooking skills and struggling to make ends meet.

"I never learnt how to cook from my mum," says Louise, who has been a victim of domestic violence and has been supported by Home-Start Calderdale for five years since the birth of her first daughter, Melissa.

"I try to make sure that my children eat well, but it is very difficult. They are very picky and I just can't get them to eat, particularly Gemma, who is one."

Her buddy, Andrea, is a new mentor to Home-Start, and has been looking forward to the cooking courses.

"I wanted to do some volunteering," says the mother of two young boys from Halifax. "Someone told me about Home-Start and how it helps vulnerable young people and families and so I decided to train to become a mentor.

"I'm not the world's greatest cook but I really want to

help Louise to learn how to feed her family healthy meals – and learn something myself. We are all in it together."

The scheme aims to demonstrate that it is possible to enjoy cooking and feed a family on limited money without resorting

to junk food.

The project sees Home-Start Calderdale working in partnership with The Cooking School at Dean Clough which will host four special courses for both parents and their mentors over the summer.

Phase one of the scheme will teach 40 families, plus their mentors, who will then continue the lessons learnt back at the family home for longer-term benefits and ideally passing on the knowledge they have acquired.

Linda Crowther, from Home-Start Calderdale, says: "We are supporting over 80 families and food is always high on the list of what

could be worked on to improve patenting skills. The volunteer mentors will often accompany parents to the supermarket to help them to shop on a low budget and then cook alongside them at home to demonstrate the simple recipes.

"Our volunteers try to develop a positive attitude in the home but the parents often lack motivation.

The hope is that with access to the resources at The Cooking School and the professional chef in situ, the families can learn new skills, new recipes and new enthusiasm that the mentors can continue during their weekly support visits."

Historically, it is known that families who are never introduced to healthy eating simply compound the problem, so healthy food becomes a lower priority across the generations.

This paves the way for convenience and junk foods to become the norm, impacting on their long-term health and creating life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Equally as worrying for children existing on a diet of junk and high sugar food is the effect it can have on their concentration levels in school – leading to under-achievement and behavioural problems that taint their whole outlook and working lives.

Mother-of-three Dawn Smith says she bought pre-packed food because it was quicker and she thought cheaper, but the Cooking School course has opened her eyes.

"We haven't had a pre-packed meal since I went to the Cooking School.

I have started cooking with my 12-year-old daughter Victoria, and all the children love it. It has made me realise that you can cook healthy food and it is actually cheaper than prepacked food."

Dawn, who has been helped by Home-Start for 18 months, says without the buddy system she would never have plucked up

the courage to go on a cookery course. She was accompanied by Carol Ingham, her Home-Start mentor.

"It was a really enjoyable day and we both learnt so much," says Carol, who is due to start a social work degree later this year.

"It is such a great scheme, giving people the confidence to actually cook healthy, nutritious and cheap meals."

Anita Cormac, executive director of The Cooking School, says: "We are keen

to work with these 'forgotten' families so we can demonstrate the stark choices between poor and healthy foods and what

that means for their long-term health.

"The sessions will be giving the parents food facts and skills to encourage them to make changes that affect their and their children's future health.

"The benefits of having their volunteer alongside is that they are with a friend who understands their lifestyle and will be able to give non-judgmental support; making the whole exercise enjoyable and motivational. We aim to show the parents that cooking healthy meals doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming."

The project is determined not to dictate to parents but show the alternatives to eating a low-quality diet.

It also aims to contribute to the Department of Health's Child Health Promotion Programme's target to reduce childhood obesity and give advice and information for healthy eating, portion sizes and mealtime routines. It will also contribute to targets for improving dental health as it will focus on a low-sugar diet.

How home-start works

Home-Start is the UK's leading family support charity. It recruits and trains volunteers to help parents, in their own homes, with at least one child under the age of five.

The home visiting work is unique in the UK. The charity was set up in 1973 and now has 336 Home-Starts supporting nearly 34,000 families and more than 71,000 children each year.

Almost 16,000 volunteers visit families in their own homes – parents supporting other parents in a variety of situations including isolation, bereavement, poverty, lone parenting, multiple births, illness or disability.

Home-Start Calderdale is one of 336 local Home-Starts that recruit and train parent volunteers to offer emotional and practical support to families who are struggling to cope, whatever the reason. Home-Start Calderdale worked with 129 families last year, supporting 321 children.

The Cooking School was established at Dean Clough in 2009 by Anita Cormac, above. All profits go back into Focus on Food the organisation Anita founded 11 years ago to improve cooking in schools.