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National charity the Children’s Food Trust has begun training holiday club leaders from across the West Midlands to help get children and families cooking more this summer.

Staff and volunteers from Holiday Kitchen programmes in the region – schemes offering learning, food and play to help families thrive throughout the year – are taking part in a scheme funded by Unilever.

Designed to help build the skills, knowledge, confidence and resources to run healthy cooking activities with children and families, The Holiday Kitchen projects aim to run at least four cooking sessions as part of their schedule this summer.

This training will mean more than 200 children get to cook and share meals together through the holidays.

Children’s Food Trust chief executive Linda Cregan explained: “School holidays can be a huge pinch point for families who rely on free school meals during term time.

“Holiday Kitchen projects are already doing amazing work to get families cooking and eating well while school’s out; this training is about giving them even more ideas and techniques to make every cooking session count.

“This is the first time we’ve trained holiday clubs and shows just how much potential there is for business and charities to come together to ensure every child gets the great food, fun and stimulation they need in school holidays.

“Activities like cooking not only help children to eat well during the holidays, but also help make sure their learning doesn’t fall too far behind before the return to school in September.”

Caroline Wolhuter from Holiday Kitchen, an Accord Group programme, added: “Working with the Children’s Food Trust will ensure that our families not only benefit from fantastic cooking activities and communal eating during programmes, but are able to take the skills and knowledge gained through Holiday Kitchen back into their homes and communities.

“This complements our physical activity, arts and nature based programme, and ensures vulnerable families can enjoy good quality holiday food and activities that support both their wellbeing and life-skills.”

James Allred from Unilever Food Solutions said: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to support the Children’s Food Trust and Holiday Kitchen with this incredibly worthwhile project in the Birmingham area.

“We are fully aware that the financial challenges for a large number of families, especially during the summer holidays, are tough.

“Hunger combined with a lack of meaningful things to do during the holidays puts at risk the overall development of children. What better way to engage children who need it most by including them in activities linked to food, and hopefully give them the springboard to a brighter future.”