Christchurch Food Bank+ has received a grant of £1,500 towards its cookery workshops and Meal in a Bag projects.

The money has been awarded by Christchurch Food Festival Education Trust (CFFET) and chairman of the trustees, Julie Ratcliffe, said: “Understanding basic cookery, food and nutrition not only enables people to cook healthy meals but also to save money. The much-needed projects will make a difference to the health and wellbeing of local people.”

Tracy Blick, manager of the Foodbank+, said: “This is so wonderful, as a local foodbank+, we rely on donations to continue the good work we do in the community. This donation will enable us start up our cooking on a budget workshops (teaching people to cook home-cooked, healthy meals for their families and equipping them to shop well and eat well) and offer our ‘Meals in a Bag’ to our visitors.”

The Meal in a Bag project provides all the ingredients and a slow cooker if needed, to make a good home-cooked meal that a family can make together.

One mum said: “It is like try before you buy, I cannot afford to buy food the children won’t eat; this way we make it, try it and when we love it – which we do often – I then go out and buy the ingredients to make it again as I know the children love it, it’s a wonderful idea.”

This year’s Christchurch Food Festival runs from 2-5 June.