Cookstown shoppers fund healthy eating programme for families in their cancer journey

Participants receive practical advice and support on making tasty, low-cost meals to support them during and as they recover from treatment.

Every Friday morning, participants get together for a cookery demonstration to learn how to create and, when needed, modify dishes, include more fruit and vegetables and reduce saturated fat, salt and sugar in their meals.

As part of the programme, they are also given a “Cooking with Charis” recipe book to take home. The recipes are healthy and easy to make but are also created with a very important quality in mind: lots of flavour!

“When people go through treatment for cancer, such as chemotherapy, they may have a lack of appetite and their sense of taste may change, so we make sure to include different spices, textures and flavours in the recipes to make them fall in love with food again,” explains Imelda McGucken, Director of Care at Charis Cancer Care. “We also tailor the programme according to participants’ requirements.

“We are extremely grateful for the Tesco Stronger Start/Groundworks funding to support our classes and help people and their families eat well at home.

“At Charis, we believe food plays a significant role in our lives. Good food has the potential to be revitalising, comforting and restorative and is vital for our wellbeing.

“Our sessions also offer the added benefit of social interaction around the table and the making of new friendships, as participants can discuss individual experiences with like-minded people in a relaxed environment,” she continues.

The Stronger Starts scheme, in partnership with the Groundwork charity, aims to support many Northern Ireland community projects and good causes in the coming years, with thousands of pounds to give away.

Claire De Silva, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “We’re delighted that we can help organisations like Charis Cancer Centre. Stronger Starts invites our customers to use their blue tokens to vote for local schemes they feel will benefit people of all ages, and it’s so good to see the impact that the funding makes.”

NI shoppers can support their local schools and charities by dropping the Tesco blue token they receive at checkout into the relevant voting box as they leave the store.

For further information on how to make a difference at Tesco stores across NI, please go to https://tescostrongerstarts.org.uk