Bury Council’s Adult Learning Service received high commendation at the Groundwork Business and Community Awards at Bolton Albert Hall on Thursday, 19 November.
The Adult Learning Service achieved the award for providing a unique ‘healthy living’ course for 16-18 year old students about to embark on university life and living away from home for the first time.
Gill Hughes from Bury Council and Mandy Dixon from Holy Cross College produced a learning package to teach students how to cook for themselves and friends, producing quick, simple, low cost, healthy balanced meals using fresh, locally sourced foods. The course also gave information on nutrition and food safety and, along with a team of three tutors and two food technicians, produced a booklet entitled “Cooking for University” containing recipes, what to eat each day, a food safety quiz and how to store food correctly.
This course for many students throughout Bury was their first opportunity to learn how to cook and provided them with basic skills and information about food hygiene and safety.
The course has proved extremely popular with the students and is growing in strength each year. There are already plans in continuing the course and in 2010 this will have an Italian theme with 2012 having an Olympic theme.
I personally think this course is a great idea because (knowing full well that my cooking skills are somewhat limited) had I gone to university instead of working I'd probably still be living on beans on toast and supernoodles! Cooking really is one of those skills that you really can't do without if you want a healthy, balanced diet and I think students should continue to jump at the opportunity to learn.
For further information on courses available at Bury adult learning see their website www.bury.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/AdultAndCommunityEducation
