Promoting Healthy Eating for Everyone in South West England

Food Is Fun and Cities of Service Plymouth are looking for volunteers to help us increase the number of households in Plymouth that regularly cook and eat fruit and vegetables. You can register by clicking here .

A celebration event has taken place to mark one year of volunteer cookery sessions with residents. The 'Grow, Share Cook' sessions up at Plumer House, the headquarters for Plymouth Community Homes, led by Tami Skelton from Food is Fun, have now been taking place for a year as part of the Our Plymouth volunteer initiative. The aim of Grow, Share, Cook, is 'to mobilise volunteers to grow more fresh fruit and vegetables, the development of community gardens and the distribution of the food to those in need, as well as healthy cookery sessions.'


Since Grow, Share, Cook was launched:

  • 23,360 meals have been given to 1,611 people
  • 85% of participants say they now have a healthier diet
  • 89% of participants say that Grow, Share, Cook has helped improve their cooking skills
  • 103 families have been receiving free fortnightly fruit and veg boxes
  • 216 pots and pans have been donated in the pots and pans amnesty
A 'Grow Share Cook' session in action A 'Grow Share Cook' session in action

Click here for just one of the projects we are delivering to communities in Plymouth.

Food Is Fun encourages people of all ages to explore food in a fun way to promote healthy eating for their future


Food Is Fun creates events for all ages, from Surestart Centres to Universities, from Schools to Care Homes. Each event is customised to fit in with the curriculum, specific requirements, diets or projects.


Food Is Fun is available for an hour, a half-day, a full-day or weekly events or courses. Using hands-on activities, demonstrations using our “travelling kitchens” or simple lectures, these unique events focus on the fun of cooking and how to produce affordable healthy food.


We believe that lots of good work has been done to improve the quality of food in schools and other public organisations such as the NHS, but unless food is perceived to be "tasty", and is practical to cook or prepare, people will not eat it - no matter how healthy it is.


Our Work working with communities since 2008:

How Food Is Fun can help a school's Ofsted Inspection

In February 2015 Ofsted announced that they will be inspecting on healthy eating and food culture within their new "Common Inspection Framework" from September 2015. Supporting the School Food Plan the new Framework includes a judgement on whether schools are successfully supporting pupils to gain 'knowledge of how to keep themselves healthy, including through exercising and healthy eating'. We anticipate that inspectors will be prompted to look for a range of evidence extended across the whole school approach.


Working with Food Is Fun and our new , supports both the new Primary Curriculum and the new Ofsted Inspection Framework - helping your school with its Ofsted Rating.

The Plymouth Big Food Event (BFE), took place across the city of Plymouth from 10th – 14th June 2014. See our blog for pictures of the events.
Organised by Food Plymouth (the city-wide food partnership working to help Plymouth become a Sustainable Food City) and Food is Fun.


Demonstration Kitchens and Cooking Events

The Tavistock Kitchen Food Is Fun has a full range of professional and practical demonstration kitchens available for hire right now. Ranging from a single portable unit for an individual chef up to a professional kitchen suitable for large food festivals. Flexible delivery and setup is available to make any food event with chef demonstrations an impressive success. See our demo kitchens webpage for more details, or contact us to discuss your requirements. As seen at Fishstock (Brixham), TorqEat (Torquay), Winchester Town Hall, Flavourfest (Plymouth) and many other locations/festivals.


The Fishstock Kitchen In partnership with our wide range of chefs Food Is Fun will organise, create and run any food event you need. Our public chef demonstrations draw the crowds to any event. Community events can be enhanced by adding our expertise to show such things as healthy cooking on a budget, survival cooking or specialist areas such as all the different ways to cook with apples!


Contact us for more details, look at our events webpage and find out what we can create for you!

National Allotment Week 2015 and Flavourfest 2015


The Food is Fun team worked with "The Plymouth Show" and "Flavourfest 2015" this year for a fun filled week. As a partner of the Grow, Share, Cook Project we offered children’s activities including cooking demonstrations aimed at families with children. Here are some pictures of our week:

 Children gathering food growing in the popup allotment
A Storm Trooper guarding the Food Is Fun Marquee Tami on BBC Spotlight South West

Slideshow

Bruce Cole making bread in the Food Is Fun Pavilion at Flavourfest 2013 Jacques Marchal with Tami demonstrating at Devonport Guildhall for the Food Cultures project Richard Hunt with many helpers cooking up a storm at Buckland Abbey in 2011 Thom Hunt of the Three Hungry Boys making butter in the Food Is Fun Pavilion at Flavourfest 2012 Tami and Dave running a Ready, Steady, Cook competition in Tavistock for the Diamond Jubilee 2012 Tami talking about the Eatwell Plate to local school children as part of the annual Widening Horizons project Tami doing a show-and-tell on assorted fruit and vegetables at Yealmpton Primary School Dave making pizzas with pupils from Yealmpton Primary School Richard Hunt with Dave at Buckland Abbey while some of the audience decorate cookies Richard Hunt and a wonderful collection of carved pumpkins at Buckland Abbey in 2011 James and Chris Tanner Ready, Steady, Cook at Flavourfest 2011 Dave and Tami with Jacques Marchal at Devonport Guildhall as part of the Food Cultures project Some of the yummy pizzas our children make with us A south devon Gurnard, one of the lovely fish we show our children - supplied by The Market Plaice of the City Market, Plymouth Dave showing the Widening Horizons pupils a John Dory Jacques Marchal demonstrating to the Widening Horizons pupils Tami congratulating pupils from Yealmpstone Farm Primary their Plymouth Food Award at the BFE 2014 Many hands making yummy pizzas!! Bruce Cole during the BFE Schools Challenge 2014 Bruce Cole during the BFE Schools Challenge 2014 Richard Hunt during the BFE Schools Challenge 2014 Richard Hunt during the BFE Schools Challenge 2014 Lloyd Down and Jacques Marchal with a fish masterclass at the BFE 2014 River Cottage chefs Andy Richardson and Daniel at the BFE 2014 Tami presenting Oreston Community Academy their Plymouth Food Award at the BFE 2014 Pasty Crimping at the Looe Food Festival 2014 Simon Hulstone at the TorqEat Festival 2014 From the Weston Super Food Festival 2014 Pasta Making at Flavourfest 2014 Fitz and Bill Buckley at Flavourfest 2014 Richard Hunt with students from Cornwall College at Flavourfest 2014 On the big screen Flavourfest 2014 At the Fifteen Cornwall Spring Fayre 2015

Here are some pictures of Food Is Fun events ...

Many, many more pictures and articles can be found in our blog - please check back for regular updates

Contact

To book Food Is Fun, or to find out more about our events or demo kitchens please contact:
Tami Skelton or Dave Styles,
Tel: 07818 450968
email: tami@foodisfun.org.uk or dave@foodisfun.org.uk.

Video

Click on this picture to watch our latest video showcase of Food is Fun:

And these videos also show some more of the fun we create:

           

We have been kindly supported by these organisations and companies:


Asda

Sainsbury's

Tesco

City Market

Waitrose

Slow Food

CHSW

Millfields Trust

Welcome Hall

Plymouth City Council

RIO

Co-Op

Diggin It

Worshipful Company of Cooks

Raring2Go

Children's University

Food For Life Partnership

School Food Plan

Tamar View Fruiterers

Food Plymouth

Cities of Service