Chartwells to offer summer hampers and cooking sessions for children

School caterer Chartwells has announced it will provide food hampers and training among a suite of resources to help provide support for youngsters during the summer holidays.

Compass Group UK & Ireland’s education business will provide schools, charities, councils and parents with resources including cooking lessons and virtual training, food hampers for organisations and a range of activities. In addition, Chartwells’ Super Yummy Kitchen YouTube channel, created by nutritionists and chefs, will continue to share three recipes a week and focus on the importance of a balanced diet.

Charlie Brown, managing director of Chartwells, said: “We’re keen to build on our holiday provision work as we believe in supporting children and families, by providing resources and education wherever possible.

“We know that school holidays can be tough for some families, but our vision is to create healthier futures for children and young people and we want to continue this work all year round. We would usually be delivering education and cooking sessions face to face, but with current restrictions in place we have turned our hand to developing a great set of resources for people to use.”

The school caterers will also continue its partnerships with several organisations including The Mayor’s Fund for London - Kitchen Social, which gives young Londoners, on free school meals and from low-income families support during school holidays.

Since lockdown, the majority of Chartwells’ kitchens has remained open to support key worker and vulnerable children, supplying 19 tonnes of food for some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

In 2018 the education business launched Beyond the Chartwells Kitchen, a dedicated a health and wellbeing programme, which helps tackle issues such as childhood obesity.