Food Matters helps vulnerable children and young adults become more independent by growing their skills and confidence in the kitchen.

As care leavers, young mums and other young adults move towards independent living, they are not always equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence to budget their food or cook for themselves.

What We Do

We work with groups of vulnerable people, including children, teenagers, asylum seekers and refugees, and people with learning difficulties.

We deliver cookery sessions that focus on preparing and cooking affordable healthy meals from simple ingredients and using basic equipment.  This is in recognition that many of the people we work with may be living in temporary accommodation with limited facilities.

Our courses are engaging and participatory and involve demonstrations, opportunities for questions and coming together socially to share a meal.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we talked to young people in Sussex to ask how we can help.  The result? We moved Kitchen Kickstart online with simple, easy to follow cooking videos.

Following a recipe can be a daunting experience if it’s full of ingredients you’ve not got and if you don’t have confidence in the kitchen. Gaining confidence in the kitchen and being part of a group can be more important than learning cooking skills.

“The sessions are about more than the food, they’re a lot about independence. They fund food education in schools, so why shouldn’t they do it for people outside of schools, who live alone, who never really have the access to education or family support.”

~ Course participant

Cook along with Kitchen Kickstart on YouTube.

Get In Touch

Reach out to the Food Matters team to find out more about what we do, get involved or to collaborate with us on a future project.

Get In Touch

Get in touch with the Food Matters team to find out more about what we do or get involved. We also want to hear from you if you would like to collaborate with us on a future project.