Pupils taught importance of nutritious meals thanks to cluster team-up

Scores of schoolchildren are onside with healthy eating after a team-up between primary care staff and Swansea City AFC Foundation.

The youngsters learned how to prepare and cook nutritious meals after joining the Jack to a Chef programme.

City Health Local Cluster Collaborative (LCC) provided funding for the foundation, the Championship club’s charitable arm, to help teach schoolchildren the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Pictured: Secondary school pupils prepared a three-course meal at the Swansea.com Stadium (Picture by Swansea City AFC Foundation).

Five primary schools and a secondary school within the LCC area, which covers the south-east and central areas of Swansea, took part.

The course runs for five weeks and offers a mixture of both theory and practical aspects around nutrition and cooking.

Each session is made up of 45 minutes of classroom-based learning, followed by 45 minutes of cooking where the children learn and improve their skills.

Caroline Gwilym, Head of Health and Wellbeing at the Swansea City AFC Foundation, said: “152 pupils benefitted from the programme across the schools.

“They were able to learn about different aspects of nutrition and healthy eating and how this can have a positive impact on them, as well as their wider family.

“The theory topics covered through the programme included portion sizes, food labels, healthy packed lunch substitutions, as well as learning about budgeting and shopping lists, among other things.

“The practical skills included cutting and chopping, weighing and measuring, cooking and timing, following timings and recipes, and more.

“The children were able to immerse themselves in the tasks, improving their overall life and cooking skills, which we hope they will take with them through their next years of education and into their households.”

Swansea City AFC Foundation

Secondary school students who took part even got the chance to cook and serve a three-course meal at the Swansea.com Stadium.

After completing the initial programme, they joined the stadium’s head chef Martyn Guest for three additional weeks of training.

They then produced a starter, main course and dessert which were served at a celebration event at the stadium attended by parents and by school and football club staff.

Pictured: Cluster staff were invited to the celebration event at the stadium.

“It gave pupils the chance to try new foods and recipes they hadn’t tried before,” Caroline added.

“It was also a chance for the pupils to experience a professional kitchen and cook a variety of dishes under the guidance of qualified chefs.”

As part of the teaching side of the programme, foundation staff taught the schoolchildren about the Eatwell Guide which shows how much from each food group should be eaten to achieve a balanced, healthy diet.

In addition to the Jack to a Chef programme, the LCC has also benefitted from the foundation’s FIT Jacks health and wellbeing programme for adults.

The 12-week programme combines fitness sessions with information about making healthier choices to improve people’s lifestyle and overall health, with GPs able to refer into the programme.

It has been supported by City Health LCC, as well as other Swansea-based LCCs, with sessions having taken place in communities across the city.

Rhys Jenkins, City Health LCC lead, said: “Our collaboration with the Swansea City AFC Foundation team has really benefited patients within our cluster.

“City Health has a high proportion of younger patients compared to other clusters, so helping young people through funding of the cookery in schools project felt particularly prudent.

“We are aware of how nutrition decisions made early in life can impact behaviours and health outcomes later in life.  So to be able to provide this alongside curriculum work around nutrition has been really impactful.

“I was fortunate to be invited by the foundation to the celebration event of this project.

“It was a privilege to witness the real sense of pride in the room that not only the parents had for what their children had produced, but also how proud and excited the children were to present the fantastic meals that they had created to their parents and families.”