London Borough of Merton: 'Cooking with Friends’

'Cooking with Friends’ is a Merton Council project aimed at providing care leavers with the opportunity to learn new skills in the kitchen, make new friends and socialise over food. This space provides young people with a chance to create a peer support network, learn life skills and have their say. Those who attend receive a cookbook each session and a voucher of their choice for continuous engagement.

Children and young people

23 Oct 2024

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Kez: Tonight, we are doing the cooking with friend’s programme for our care leavers, we are cooking Caribbean chicken skewers, sweet potatoes, and tofu Caribbean skewers.

Rosemary: Cooking with friends was basically birthed out of making sure that young people who gave us feedback around the accessibility of food had an idea of kind of how to cook and prepare healthy meals and how to find food in their community where things are quite difficult.

Sukpal: The programme will help young people grow by increasing their confidence in the kitchen but also by providing them with a platform to socialise with other care experienced young people and get together outside of this forum as well.

I also hope it evolves into a platform where young people can feel they can come share their views and have their say and this communication really helps us in Merton council, and we continue to hear from children and young people and shape services with them and around them.

Ogieth: This programme is really amazing, I’ve learned a lot of skills like new cooking, that I didn’t know before. I also meet new people also here and I’m really happy its so amazing. One positive thing was talking to people and to be safe while you’re cooking also.

Kez: The most rewarding part, I think is watching the friendships grow and even the relationship with other professionals I think knowing that they can reach out me to someone in my team when they need help or advice. Outside of the programme, some of our young people kind of go out and hang out socially and so hearing them talk to each other and knowing that have have those friendships and relationship outside of the cooking with friend’s programme.

Ussama: Since I’ve been a councillor, I’ve really appreciated our role as corporate parents a large part of that is our care leavers. Because I understand how challenging it can be for any child to make the transition from being the care of a local authority to then having to live independently sort out employment opportunities and all the stuff that comes with adulthood. We are glad to provide that space where our young people can still come together and connect one another and feed into decisions into people like me are making. So, initiatives like this are incredibly important to me in making sure that young person voice is part of everything that we do.

Rosemary: So we have young people who live on their own, and actually so what’s been helpful for them is helping is budgeting and batch cooking food and helping them live quiet economically around food. We also have young parents who come here, our biggest success story is when we have our young people who are parents who learn how to make meals and actually and able to share that with children and have the one-on-one quality time at home.

Abi: I'm joining remotely because I have moved away and I also have a young daughter who is seven. The sessions have helped really well as it nice to get out and communicate with different people. Healthy eating is quiet important to myself, and my daughter as we are both pescatarian. I'm going to keep attending the sessions remotely and in person as and when I can.

Rosemary: The most rewarding part is meeting young people, although we are having conversations about food, I think food is a universal language and actually it leads conversation and stories about other things that impact and affect young peoples lives; and to hear that face to face is really impactful to me and hopefully I feel like I have given them cooking tips and tricks so they can use at home.

The challenge

The project started during the Covid-19 pandemic where Merton Council heard from care leavers about the challenges of accessing healthy food and how the lockdowns caused feelings of isolation. As like most of us during that time, they were unable to meet in-person due to restrictions and therefore decided to create a platform online where young people were able to socialise safely.

The solution

To combat feelings of isolation and the lack of healthy food, the Participation and Engagement team launched ‘Cooking with Friends’ via a digital platform. Young people received food parcels and joined an online forum to cook together, with cooking sessions led by a professional chef who made cooking easy and accessible for everyone. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Participation and Engagement team have continued to focus on healthy lifestyles and ensuring food is accessible to those who need it most.

Care leavers have access to their own food and toiletry pantry, which can be accessed through the Care Leaver Forum or through their Personal Advisor. There have also been additional links to the sports and leisure offer, through Merton Council’s Borough of Sport ambition.

The project re-launched in September 2024 to provide a new cohort of care leavers with the same opportunity, however this time cooking sessions took place in person at a community venue.

The impact

For young people leaving care, the transition into adulthood can be particularly challenging. Programmes such as ‘Cooking with Friends’ ease this transition by offering both practical support and emotional connection, making young people better prepared for independent living.

The programme also contributes to having a positive mental health and wellbeing outlook as communal activities offer a safe space for care leavers to express themselves and we know that activities such as cooking help to reduce stress and anxiety.

Cooking with friends encourages young people to prepare and enjoy meals that are both fun and nutritious, all while ensuring a safe environment. It helps them develop essential life skills, such as grocery shopping, budgeting, and making fresh meals that are budget-friendly. This program turns cooking into an enjoyable experience, allowing young people to connect with new friends and foster a sense of community.

Sustainability

Merton Council is dedicated to ensuring all care leavers have the right skills to live a healthy adult life. The Corporate Parenting service is continually hearing from young people about the skills they need, with the ‘Cooking with Friends’ programme being one avenue of shaping existing skills or trying something new. Additionally, sustaining the programme over the long term requires ongoing feedback from those who are engaged. Adapting the programme based on the views of care leavers ensuring that it remains relevant and engaging, therefore we will continue to facilitate the programme as long as young people remain involved.

Lessons learned:

Several important lessons can be drawn from this programme, especially as it has evolved from an online initiative to an in-person programme in 2024. One key lesson is based around flexibility; the shift to in-person sessions demonstrated the need for an adaptable model of delivery based around young people’s commitments, such as education, work, and social activities, as well as reducing any barriers they may face such as travel costs. Additionally, building trust and stability with care leavers is particularly important. The programme offers consistent, reliable sessions that help build those connections with care leavers benefiting from knowing that they can rely on the programme as a stable part of their support system. This is as important now, as it was during the pandemic when the programme first started.

What we hope young people to continue to receive from this programme is: cooking together that breaks the isolation, cooking that enhances creativity, cooking that promotes health, and cooking that is fun. So that young people have a space where there is absolutely no limit to what they can cook and create together.

Contact:

For more information about Merton Council’s Care Leaver Forum, or the ‘Cooking with Friends’ project, please e-mail [email protected].