ALTON food bank will be starting another Eat Well Spend Less course this month, aimed at providing the skills to help enable people to break the cycle of poverty.

Starting on Tuesday, January 24, at Eggar’s School, the free six-week course will be designed to equip people with cookery skills and the confidence to build upon these skills in their day-to-day lives so that they are able to prepare and eat healthier food, to give an understanding of how to plan meals, both from an economic and a nutritional point of view, and to teach people simple financial management techniques to enable them to budget more effectively and avoid getting into debt.

To take place from 6pm to 8.30pm each Tuesday, this is an entry-level course so participants do not need to know how to cook before they come.

Each session is two-and-a-half hours long, covering two basic recipes as well as activities on the session’s topic.

Recipes are demonstrated to participants before they attempt to make it themselves, covering dishes such as a quick soup, basic tomato sauces, and treats like crumbles.

Alton food bank manager John Jacobs said: “It’s very relaxed. Participants cook with us and take home what they make. We also cover a range of subjects surrounding cooking and budgeting, including menu planning, portion sizes, money planning, supermarket psychology, and tips on picking up bargains.

“We all learn together in a small group, so people can share their own skills and experience too.”

And he added: “The course is fun and informal, and it’s a great way to discover new tips and techniques on how to cook quick, healthy meals on a low budget.”

The Trussell Trust, to which Alton Foodbank is affiliated, ran pilots of the Eat Well Spend Less courses in Salisbury in 2014 and has now trained a further 61 food banks in the network to run courses, helping people on low incomes to overcome food poverty and to benefit both physically and emotionally from eating a healthier diet by cooking more meals from scratch and cutting out a lot of the salt and sugar found in ready meals and takeaways.

To book a place on the Alton course, or for more details, call John Jacobs on 07773 034447 or email [email protected].