Well, the results are in…

An independent evaluation on our Bags of Taste Mentored home cooking courses has just been completed and it was great to see the difference that the course has made to our students.

The evaluation

60 students who took part in our Mentored course were interviewed by telephone six months later and the data was analysed.

They were asked eight questions which centred around evaluating the impact of the course on their cooking and eating habits, their finances and their health. Quantitative analysis was conducted on answers for certain questions, and a thematic analysis was conducted of the entire data set.

So the top line results found

• 65% were cooking more frequently.
• Students were cooking more from scratch and trying new cooking – 68% had gone on to try new recipes.
• There was a significant increase in healthy eating and they were all eating more fruit and vegetables.
• 45% of students had saved money by eating less takeaways and ready meals.
• Many reported a range of improvements to their physical, social and emotional health and enjoyed interacting with other each during lockdown.

Please get in touch with [email protected] if you’d like to see the full evaluation and report.

‘I feel healthier, I feel like the course helped me get better control of my diabetes.’ ‘After doing the course, I really calculate what I need. If I don’t need anything I won’t buy it.’

Huge thanks to the authors who generously supported us by doing this review.

Claire Norris, Jennifer O’Mara BSc, MSc, Registered Associate Nutritionist (ANutr) and Shaye McLeish BSc, Registered Associate Nutritionist (ANutr)