They achieved this by demonstrating that they grow and cook food, as well as sharing these skills with their community to make good food accessible in the local area.
Star Light Multi Care create sensory safe spaces for children in Walsall, including running growing and cooking activities to get children thinking about good food and where it comes from. They also distribute surplus food from supermarkets to families that attend their projects or to local homeless charities, run holiday clubs which provide a healthy hot meal for children, and ‘stay and play’ sessions for families with younger children, again offering a healthy meal option for those who attend.
Samantha Gurdin from Star Light Multi Care shared: “We were extremely happy to receive the first Nourishing Communities Award. Often, we work hard to provide services to families but do not see recognition for this work. We do not do it for recognition but when we as a team were notified of this award, we were excited and proud to achieve it.
“It’s vital that we support young people to understand the importance of nutrition for their future health. Support with budgeting and considering alternative options could benefit them financially but also health-wise. We have observed children who are hungry and often missing vital meals such as breakfast – it’s highly important that the residents of Walsall can access good nutritious food.”
The Food for Life Nourishing Communities Award has been created to highlight the groups in Walsall who are making it easier for everyone to access and enjoy healthy and sustainable food.
Food for Life was commissioned by Walsall Council in 2017 to work with schools and early years settings in the area to make good food the norm. Since then, over 19,000 children in Walsall have benefitted from Food for Life activity in their school. Now, the programme is working more widely across Walsall, connecting with partners across the area to collectively improve Walsall's food environment and celebrate the great things already happening to improve access to good food in the borough.
Jenine Hadley, Local Programme Manager for Food for Life Walsall shared: “We are delighted to recognise Star Light Multi Care’s commitment to ensuring children can access good food, particularly outside of school time when so many rely on free school meals during term time. It’s been brilliant to hear about the depth of their work, which is all part of making Walsall a great place for good food.
“We loved hearing about how Starlight support children and their families with planning, budgeting and cooking their own meals from scratch. It was brilliant to see their application detail how they grow their own fruit and vegetables and incorporate that into their cooking activities too. We also loved that as part of their growing they also emphasise the importance of looking after our environment and the difference that children can make.”
To support local groups to deliver community activities, Food for Life and Walsall Council are also pleased to be offering grants to community groups who are working towards the above. To be eligible, a group must apply for the Nourishing Communities Award, earn at least one badge, and be happy to share updates on their funded activities with Food for Life.
Applications for the Nourishing Communities Award are open now. Community Groups can apply here: https://forms.office.com/e/hCHycJZQ65