A Helping Hand for Healthy Eating
Thanks to a generous donation from the Tesco store on Aston Lane in Witton, BCHC Charity has been able to help 29 homeless families who are living in temporary accommodation.
Arriving families are placed in temporary or emergency accommodation such as hotels, bed and breakfasts, and refuges with their only source of cooking facilities being a microwave and kettle. These vulnerable families experience a whole host of problems including food poverty. They are from a wide range of backgrounds: some are asylum seekers and refugees with no recourse to public funds, and some have fled domestic violence.
Working with our Health Visitor colleagues, our ‘Meals in a Mug’ scheme provides families with a package that includes microwaveable mugs, a recipe book and a food parcel to help them create meals from scratch whilst learning new and affordable recipes.
BCHC Charity Assistant Katie Bradshaw, ordered all the items for direct delivery to Aston Health Centre where she made up the bags to be distributed by the Health Visitors. This gave Katie an opportunity to meet face to face with colleagues, learn about their work and how the Charity could further enhance patient experience.
Nikola Demetrius, Specialist Health Visitors for Homeless Families said: “I would like to say a personal thank you to Tesco for helping us to help homeless families who are living in temporary accommodation decrease their reliance on takeaway food which is of poor nutritional value. Promoting good health is at the heart of what we do, and this project provides the tools to achieve that goal”.