England goalie helps kick off new clubs in Sefton

23 September 2008

England goalkeeper Rachel Brown joined the first local schools to kick-off Let’s Get Cooking in Sefton, part of a national network of healthy cooking clubs for children and parents backed by £20 million from the Big Lottery Fund.

A group of around 60 children and adults from 10 local schools got together at Everton Football Club in Liverpool (15 September 2008). Rachel joined them to start cooking and to learn how to organise fun cooking events within their communities.

Over the next five years, the School Food Trust will set up 5,000 school-based cooking clubs, in a bid to teach new cooking skills to more than one million children and their families.   The Sefton clubs are among the first in a national roll-out programme, which will see 1,000 schools across England join the scheme before the end of the year.

All primary and secondary schools in Sefton were invited to sign up to Let’s Get Cooking via a website on a first-come-first-served basis, back in March 2008.  The scheme proved so popular that the allocated places were filled within a few days, with further clubs joining a waiting list.

Thanks to the £20 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund, the successful clubs will receive funding to buy cooking equipment, have access to free training and a range of resources.

Suzanne Mitchell, Regional Club Coordinator for Let’s Get Cooking, said, “Sefton schools certainly have an appetite for Let's Get Cooking and we were delighted that so many schools signed up so quickly.  Today is all about getting children, young people and adults cooking together and to start thinking about how their cooking club will run. 

“We’ll give them inspiration and advice to run a club that involves lots of practical cooking and also some fun events involving the whole school, parents and the wider community, such as making smoothies at a sports day or getting parents involved in preparing food at Parents’ Evening. We welcome Rachel’s support and look forward to her joining us today.”

Rachel, an international footballer, is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the country with 51 caps for England. She also helped launch and works on Liverpool’s Healthy Schools Bus, travelling to local schools to teach children of all ages about healthy eating and exercise. Today she breaks from her gruelling schedule to support Let’s Get Cooking.

“I’m really excited about Let’s Get Cooking and delighted to come along today to Sefton’s Start-Up Day. This is such a fantastic opportunity for our schools and communities and shows just how much fun and how sociable cooking can be.”

Mainly held outside school hours, Let’s Get Cooking clubs will give children and non-cooking parents of all ages the skills and confidence to cook nutritious and tasty meals from scratch.   The network of clubs will complement the recent re-introduction of practical cooking onto the curriculum for secondary school pupils, as they will also involve the wider community and encourage children and young people to cook at home and eat a healthy balanced diet.