Bags of Taste, bags of experience
Since beginning our work in 2014, we’ve won awards for supporting over 7,000 people living in food poverty across the country. We know and understand the many challenges to enjoying a healthy diet faced by vulnerable individuals.
We use this expert insight to develop and deliver our evidence-based Mentored Home Cooking course, which supports and sustains dietary change.
A range of organisations across government, academia and the public sector draw upon our expertise; consulting, commissioning and partnering with us to achieve our shared goal of providing a sustainable, long-term solution to food poverty.
“Also thank you for your kindness in preparing all the bags with love. We can see that it took time in the preparation of them. It was very thoughtful from you.
As a mother, I’m always buying and preparing things for my family to show them my care for them, but it is very rare to feel cared for. You made me feel cared for when I was opening the bags”
Well-practiced, and thoroughly practical
Over the past seven years, we have lovingly created countless meal kits – our ‘Bags of Taste’ – and prepared around 60,000 meals. Our bags. delivered to each student’s door, are filled with all the ingredients required for them to create a tasty, healthy low-cost meal.
Developed by an experienced commercial chef, our recipes are designed to recreate take-away favourites and improve on value – both nutritional and financial.
Inclusive, accessible, irresistible
Our delicious recipes are all provided alongside step-by-step instructional videos and materials that are accessible for people with learning difficulties, dyslexia, visual impairments and English as a second language.
The only requirement is a phone, which ensures that people without computers or home broadband aren’t excluded.
Working with vulnerable adults
We specialise in supporting those living in food poverty who have tried unsuccessfully to improve their diets and are mainly eating takeaways and ultra-processed food or ready meals. They also face the additional challenge of cost, which worsens their situation, forming part of the food poverty cycle.
Specialisms
Many organisations commission us for our specialist courses for people who might have different needs. These might include people with learning disabilities, long term conditions like diabetes or care leavers.
Representing, educating, and networking
As a leading authority on food poverty, part of Bags of Taste’s mission is to give a voice to the people we support, representing them in various contexts including: conferences and presentations on food poverty; All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG); advising the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on the National Food Strategy, and working with national think tanks on solutions to food poverty.
Our work in academia includes giving lectures to medical students, helping them understand better the challenges facing future patients who need to change their diets.