This week, my CFHS colleague Jacqui reflects on the social aspects of cooking and eating. ‘Who will you eat Christmas dinner with this year? Will you or someone else do the cooking? Me, I’ll be at home with my partner and his learning disabled sister. She will be peeling the spuds, carrots and parsnips, while …
Author archives: Kim Newstead
Cooking skills blog 23: Guest blog by Jacqui McDowell – The social value of cooking and eating together
Posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Ideas about developing and running cooking skills courses
Areas of Work: Cookery skills, Information provision
Our capacity building fund will close on Friday 20 January
Community Food and Health (Scotland) has one remaining funding opportunity available for groups and agencies in Scotland that wish to improve access to, and take up of, a healthy, varied and balanced diet. Our capacity building fund (up to £500) is currently open. Please read the guidance notes before you apply The capacity building fund will …
Posted in CFHS updates, News
Cooking skills blog 22: Finding out if your cooking skills courses are ‘working’: Guest blog by Jacqui McDowell: ‘The impact puzzle’
This week my colleague Jacqui McDowell (who has led on supporting our cooking skills study group on planning the evaluation of their cooking courses) reflects on the challenge of finding the perfect methods or tools to find out the difference your course is making. ‘We all know that we have to evaluate our cooking skills …
Posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Finding out if your cooking skills courses are working
Areas of Work: Cookery skills, Information provision, Research and evaluation
Cooking skills blog 21: new CFHS guide – What’s cooking in Scotland? Part three
Last week, we launched a new guide What’s Cooking in Scotland? Part Three at our cooking skills learning exchange in Edinburgh. Around 40 people attended this, many of whom are running cooking courses within community and voluntary sector organisations in low-income communities. The new guide provides tools and ideas to help you think in more …
Posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Cooking course resources, News, Publications news
Areas of Work: Cookery skills, Information provision, Research and evaluation
Cooking skills blog 20: Are cooking skills courses any use to people experiencing food poverty?
Many practitioners running cooking courses across Scotland try to ensure these focus on preparing tasty, affordable healthy meals, using ingredients that can be bought in the shops that course participants already use. However, what do you do if you become aware that someone on your course might not be able to afford these budget recipes, …
Cooking skills blog 19: Finding out if your cooking skills courses are ‘working’: assessments, quizzes and photos
Our cooking skills study group recently met to share their ideas and discuss their evaluation challenges. All of them are confident about using at least two approaches or sources of evaluation such as: Taking observation notes during the course; and Using a participant self-reporting approach by asking participants to fill in questionnaires before and after the …
Posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Finding out if your cooking skills courses are working
Areas of Work: Cookery skills, Information provision, Research and evaluation
Cooking Skills Blog 17: What are the benefits of running a structured cooking skills course?
Earlier this week I attended the Community Cooking Network event at the Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre in Glasgow. It provided updates and ideas for those interested in, or delivering the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) ‘eat better feel better’ cooking courses. This course was designed and piloted by the NHS’s Health Improvement Team …
Posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Ideas about developing and running cooking skills courses
Areas of Work: Cookery skills, Information provision
Cooking Skills Blog 15 – Researcher guest blog: developing sustainable cooking courses in partnership with people using a mental health support centre
In this guest blog, Michelle Estradé, research consultant at the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy (SCPHRP) explores how the idea of ‘ownership’ might help develop cooking courses within a mental health support centre that can be sustained in the longer term. ‘Over at SCPHRP we love partnering with community-based organisations to learn …
Posted in CFHS Blog, CFHS updates, Cooking skills research
Areas of Work: Cookery skills, Information provision, Research and evaluation
Cooking skills blog 24: Cooking skills research: cooking, confidence and enjoyment
Last year, Dr Ada Garcia and her colleagues published a narrative review on community cooking courses and their impact on people’s confidence to cook and their eating behaviour. The review wasn’t systematic, so it looks at a relatively small number of studies. However, if you are looking for academic evidence on the impact of community …