Project title: Corkerhill Healthy Hearts Programme
Region: Glasgow, Scotland
Award amount: £9,642.60
Date: January 2022 – November 2022
Nutrition Scotland were awarded a Healthy Heart Grant for their heart-healthy cooking programme which targeted residents in some of the most deprived parts of Corkerhill, who are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The Problem
Heart disease is a major cause of death in Scotland, with people living in the most deprived areas at much greater risk. Glasgow is the most deprived city and local authority within Scotland. Additionally, Corkerhill is in the 2nd decile in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) with 1st being the most deprived and 10th being the least deprived.
The Project
This project was a six-week cooking programme developed by Nutrition Scotland and supported by Pollock United. A total of 25 participants took part and learned about different nutritional topics each week. The sessions were two hours long and topics were linked to a heart-healthy recipe which participants would cook at Corkerhill Community Hub. Nutrition Scotland created a series of short animations to support participants’ learning, the videos were designed to convey heart-healthy food messages in an engaging and simple way. Participants were given factsheets and recipe cards to further support learning.
The Results
The programme was successful in increasing the skills and confidence of participants. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive and suggests the course was enjoyable for those in attendance. Most participants across all five courses reported increased knowledge and confidence around making heart healthy choices and cooking from scratch.
- 83% of participants said that the programme helped them to make more heart-healthy choices
- 100% of participants said the programme helped to reduce barriers to cooking from scratch
- 86% of participants said that they felt more confident about cooking from scratch
- 83% of participants said that the programme improved their knowledge of nutrition
- 100% of participants said that the programme helped them to meet new people
Andy, 42, from Corkerhill is a dad of two young children who joined the Healthy Hearts programme to learn a bit more about cooking and nutrition so he could help to make more nutritious meals for his family at home.
Andy’s wife usually does most of the cooking, with Andy admitting “it’s only ever once in a blue moon I’d cook at home – and it’s always a curry!” Andy said he hoped Healthy Hearts would help him to learn new recipes to impress his wife and kids. Andy was introduced to new ingredients on the course – “I had never tried a sweet potato before, so it’s been great learning how to cook new vegetables and cook a bit healthier too”- and learned new kitchen skills like how to chop an onion and how to peel carrots and ginger.
The recipes, and some of the ingredients, were all new to Andy, and he had no problem getting stuck in and trying a bit of everything. He was also able to take the meals back to his family and get their feedback – every week he’d come in and say it was a success! He liked that his wife and kids were enjoying what he had cooked for them.
When asked about how he found the course Andy said: “The course has been great from start to finish.” He is now cooking more dishes at home for his family, and when asked for any other feedback he finished, “I’d say to anyone, especially other men who don’t know how to cook, just come and give it a go, the recipes are great!”
Watch the project in action
