GLASGOW Caledonian University (GCU) is using its share of profits from the hugely successful centenary edition of the Glasgow Cookery Book to promote healthy eating among families in Drumchapel.
Parents of children attending Cloan Nursery will visit the GCU campus each Thursday in May to take part in the Caledonian Club’s Cook And Eat project, under the expert guidance of GCU’s staff, students from Human Nutrition and Dietetics and student mentors.
Thanks to impressive sales of the iconic recipe book, plus donations from alumni and friends of GCU, nearly £10,000 was raised to support community-related university programmes and student initiatives.
The cookbook money is being used to promote healthy eating Photo:Jan van der Crabben
The Caledonian Club, GCU’s award-winning widening participation and community engagement initiative, received £4,000 to develop a hands-on healthy eating and nutrition programme.
Parents will take part in workshops relating to food hygiene, budgeting, nutrition and healthy lunchbox/school snacks. There will also be cookery classes after which parents will dish up healthy, homemade meals such as spaghetti bolognaise and vegetable soups, as well as healthy, tempting treats for the kids, for example, fruit smoothies and fruit faces. The children will be invited along to enjoy the final cookery class with their parents.
Rachel Hyslop, Development Officer at the Caledonian Club, said: “By offering the Cook and Eat project to parents, we can reinforce the importance of cooking for health and wellbeing and engage parents in the Caledonian Club.”
Headteacher at Cloan Nursery, Anne O’Grady, said: “We continue to be delighted working in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University.
“This latest project allows us to continue our journey of aspiration to university life. It will enhance the health and well being of our families as well as being great fun.
The Caledonian Club works with children and their families from nursery through to the end of secondary school in communities where applications to university and college are lower than the Glasgow and Scottish average. The Club aims to raise aspirations, build key life skills and help people make informed choices about their futures.
A number of students at GCU are former Caledonian Club members, while others have gone on to college or other universities.
The Queens College and Glasgow Polytechnic merged in 1993 to form GCU, and the Queens College fund was established to support community-related university programmes and student initiatives.
