Cooking for a Better Start
April 2018 to March 2024
Cooking for a Better Start offered practical cooking sessions to parents/carers of children aged 0-3 years.
Sessions aimed to build knowledge and skills around cooking low-cost, healthy meals from scratch, as well as healthy eating.
It was delivered as part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2018 to 2024 by HENRY.
How this project was delivered
Led by experienced practitioners, small groups of parents/carers attended six sessions in local community settings, with an option to complete an online version of the course. In a later phase of the project, parents/carers could attend along with their children.
Sessions focused on the topics below, with a recipe cooked from scratch each week, and further ingredients and recipes provided for families to take home. Attendees also received a cooking-related gift at the end of each session and a certificate when they completed the course.
Week 1 – What is healthy eating?
Week 2 – What’s in our food?
Week 3 – Food safety
Week 4 – Healthy swaps
Week 5 – Shopping and budgeting
Week 6 – Portions and portion sizes
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the team offered an online option with video lessons, and toolkits sent out to families’ homes.
Background, impact and findings
Further reading
Download this snapshot of Cooking for a Better Start, with headline stats, background, impact and learning (PDF).
This report provides an overview of project performance and findings from an implementation and before-and-after outcome evaluation by the Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub.
Mum of two young children, Mariyam, completed HENRY’s online Cooking For A Better Start course and told us the sessions changed her life.
Cooking for a Better Start is for all parents and carers in the Better Start Bradford area who want to learn how to cook low-cost, healthy meals for their family.
Read about Zara'a experience of our Cooking for A Better Start course and how she is actually eating more now - but the right things!
Planning and cooking healthy family meals can seem like a big task. But with these simple recipes you'll find it much easier to prepare quick, balanced meals.