A new community healthy eating project that features recipes from Mayfield and Easthouses residents was officially launched today (17 January 2014) by Scotmid Co-operative and Midlothian Council at Scotmid’s Mayfield store.
The ‘Mmmm Mayfield and Easthouses Eat Well Campaign’, which is funded by Scotmid Co-operative, is designed to encourage local people to cook healthier meals at home more frequently.
Children from Mayfield Primary and Lawfield Primary help launch the campaign.
As part of the project, free recipe cards with recipes contributed by people in the local community will be available at Scotmid’s Mayfield store, with a new recipe card launching every two weeks. A new community newsletter will also be launched.
The campaign is part of the Food for Thought initiative for Mayfield and Easthouses by NHS Lothian Health Promotion Service and a Community Planning Partnership piece of work. The initiative aims to improve community access to affordable healthy foods, increase cookery knowledge and skills and promote enjoying healthy foods.
The recipe cards feature a number of simple, quick and healthy recipes, including a Chicken and Bean Stew from Mayfield Community Police, Chicken Curry from Y2K Youth Group, and chicken fajitas from Mayfield Primary. Local school children from Lawfield Primary also helped to design the artwork for the recipe cards.
Patricia Edington, Membership and Community Manager said: “We are thrilled to be launching this new community health project for the Mayfield and Easthouses area. The recipes have all been contributed by local people and they are all delicious and easy to make. We hope it will show residents how simple, quick and affordable it is to cook healthy and nutritious meals. It really has brought the whole community together and we would like to thank everyone that has been involved in the project.”
Councillor Bob Constable, cabinet member for Education at Midlothian Council, said: “This is a fantastic project that truly belongs to the Mayfield and Easthouses community. It’s great for residents to be able to try the recipes of people they know in the local area and we hope it encourages people to cook healthier meals more often.”
Scotmid has launched similar projects in Portobello, Moredun and Gracemount in Edinburgh and supports a number of health promotion initiatives in local communities across Scotland.