Wyndham residents who lack cooking skills are being urged to sign up for a five-week course aimed at teaching them how to prepare healthy and nutritious food.
British chef Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food will open a mobile kitchen in Hoppers Crossing on February 28 and run weekly cooking classes that are part of the Healthy Together Wyndham initiative, which aims to improve the health and well-being of the city’s residents.
Wyndham is one of 14 “at-risk” municipalities taking part in the state government initiative.
The city has one of the highest obesity rates in the west, with 23.9 per cent of men and 18.9 per cent of women considered obese. It also has low rates of fruit and vegetable consumption.
The state government’s 2012 Victorian Population Health Survey revealed 57 per cent of men and 53 per cent of women in Wyndham did not eat two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables each day. The vegetable consumption rate for children aged between four and 12 was also below the state average.
Jamie’s Ministry of Food Australia chief executive Alicia Peardon said participants would learn skills to change their lifestyles. “By teaching basic cooking skills, Jamie’s Ministry of Food helps people gain confidence in the kitchen, which leads to better food and ultimately better health.”
Wyndham mayor Bob Fairclough encouraged residents to sign up for the cooking classes, saying it would help them improve their health and save money.
The mobile kitchen will offer two cycles of five-week cooking classes.
It will be open seven days a week next to the youth resource centre at 86 Derrimut Road, Hoppers Crossing.
Classes cost $10 a session, and $5 for concession card holders.
