Parliamentary Secretary promotes new community kitchen project

 

Victorian State Government Parliamentary Secretary for Health Georgie Crozier has visited Long Gully to promote a new Healthy Together Bendigo community kitchen project.

The project will commence in November in various locations across Greater Bendigo and will teach participants about the importance of healthy eating and how to plan for and cook healthy meals.

Ms Crozier said the project is a great initiative that supports the positive work already done by Healthy Together Bendigo and the State Government more broadly.

“Last year Jamie’s Ministry of Food mobile kitchen came to Bendigo and taught people basic cooking skills and the importance of eating fresh food. Last month the obesity campaign LiveLighter was launched, which focuses on the health risks of ‘toxic fat’ and making simple lifestyle changes. Now this cooking project will continue the strong healthy eating message,” Ms Crozier said.

The project will be provided for people aged 16 years and over. As part of completing the community kitchen sessions, participants will be linked to community gardens and other support programs that will allow them to continue putting their new skills to use.

City of Greater Bendigo Chief Executive Officer Craig Niemann said the recent Food Security Report highlighted the many challenges people face to access healthy food.

“A project like this, and the many supporting programs participants will be connected to, will help to increase healthy eating rates locally and reverse a negative trend of fast food consumption,” Mr Niemann said.

“Victorian population health research has shown that 12.4 per cent of Greater Bendigo adults report eating the recommended five or more serves of vegetables a day and 37.9 per cent report eating the recommended two serves of fruit per day, while the average cost of a healthy grocery shop per fortnight for a family can vary from nearly $400 to just over $500 depending on where the purchase is made.”

Bendigo Community Health Services Senior Manager of Prevention and Population Health Kaye Graves said the project will run until June next year.

“This project will greatly benefit all participants and the knowledge gained can then be passed on to family members and friends to assist in improving their overall health and wellbeing too,” Ms Graves said.

“This is a great opportunity to improve residents’ long-term eating habits. Not all of us know how valuable and enjoyable it can be to prepare and cook fresh, healthy food but it’s never too late to learn.”

To find the nearest community kitchen to you and to register to participate contact Healthy Together Bendigo on 4408 6573.  Healthy Together Bendigo, funded by the Victorian Government, is improving the health of our community.

For more information visit City of Greater Bendigo