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Good Food Matters

Good Food Matters is very excited to announce its new partnership with charity Voices of Hope on a new recipe box collaboration project - BRITE Box - funded by the NHS innovation programme. This will see the delivery of a weekly recipe box pilot programme in and around New Addington, Croydon.

Good Food Matters will be preparing and delivering these recipe boxes from its site in New Addington to a local school. Initially, the project is launching at Rowdown School, New Addington so all pupils in Year 6 have the opportunity to take home a recipe box for six weeks of the summer term with everything that is needed to cook a tasty meal from scratch and share a meal together as a family.

From September onwards, the intention is to roll this programme out more widely to deliver up to 150 recipe boxes and reach up to 750 people each week, to provide a total of more than 22,000 meals during the school year to local schools and families in need of this support. This 2024/2025 extension of BRITE Box into the London Borough of Croydon is funded through the NHS South West London ICP Priorities Fund.

BRITE Box provides weekly recipe meal kits, with all the ingredients and a dyslexia-friendly recipe card to enable children and their families to cook and eat a healthy meal together. It addresses the increased impact of food insecurity upon children by offering children and families a 'no cost' opportunity to try new healthy foods and develop a love for cooking.

Each recipe can be replicated for less than £5 for a family of five and families develop healthy eating habits and learn new cooking skills. The project has both a short-term impact in helping with the weekly budget and a significant long-term impact by equipping children and their parents with the skills and knowledge to nourish themselves and by raising awareness in families of the benefits of healthy eating through a 'hands-on' and fun practical experience.

This, in turn, builds resilience and has a positive impact on both mental and physical health. The project's impact has been evaluated by a research team from Kingston University, details of which can be found online here.

Good Food Matters is a Croydon-based charity, whose community food learning centre has a focus on growing a healthier community through a wide range of activities that promote health and wellbeing through cooking, gardening, and nature-based activities. Each week, a team of volunteers will prepare and pack the boxes and it is actively looking for volunteers who are available on Thursdays to help across a variety of roles from shopping to packing to administration and volunteer support.

Full training and support are offered and volunteers will be part of a fun weekly term time meaningful volunteering activity. The BRITE Box (Building Resilience In Today's Environment) project was founded and is run by the Voices of Hope charity that manages three BRITE BOX hubs in southwest London and also works with partners in Southwark and Northern Ireland, operating within a social franchise model.

Voices of Hope is a Kingston-based charity founded in 2019 by CEO Sarah Clay. The charity operates across three core pillars of activity - Creative Arts, Food Projects and Women's Projects - and aims to rebuild and restore hope in individuals who are experiencing disadvantage and isolation due to being marginalised and through personal or social circumstances.

Nick Dawson, UK franchise and development lead for BRITE Box at Voices of Hope, said: "We are excited to be extending the reach and impact of BRITE Box into Croydon, with the support of the NHS funding. Good Food Matters are a fantastic partner with strong existing links into the local New Addington community and we are delighted to be working with them on this initiative."

Councillor Jason Perry, executive Mayor of Croydon, said: "This is a fantastic project supporting families in Croydon to be healthier. I am really pleased that the local Croydon charity, Good Food Matters, will be sourcing the fresh ingredients from their community garden in New Addington and helping to support those experiencing food poverty.

"I am committed to working in partnership with voluntary and community groups in Croydon to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents, and welcome projects such as this that are helping to reduce health inequalities."

Liane Tyler, headteacher at Rowdown Primary School, said: "We are thrilled to be partnering with Good Food Matters to deliver the exciting BRITE Box to our Year 6 families. As a healthy eating school, we are always working to improve children's health and wellbeing and ensuring they get the best food education possible.

"The BRITE Box is another positive step towards fulfilling this aim. We look forward to seeing the meals that the children will be cooking each week and hope that they enjoy being part of this exciting project."

Amanda McGrath, managing director at Good Food Matters, said: "This amazing pilot program with BRITE Box aligns so well with our mission to grow a healthier community and what better place to start than cooking from scratch - supporting whole families to cook and share meals together, safe in the knowledge that the meals are cheap, healthy and very tasty - developing food skills for life right here in New Addington"

This program will support people in Croydon to access good food and reduce food insecurity​ and supports both Croydon and the London Mayor's food policy to ensure that all Londoners have access to healthy food within an environment that supports them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.​

Submitted by Good Food Matters

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