Cook at home or eat takeaways?
EMERGE Recycling
At EMERGE we’re looking at working with FareShare Community Food Members (CFMs) to offer cookery classes to people, many of whom are in food poverty.
One question that comes up all the time, in discussions about food, healthy diets, the cost of food, etc, is the comparative cost of cooking ‘from scratch’ or buying a ready meal or takeaway.
Having a quick look online I came across this which raises some interesting issues.
One key issue people on low incomes talk about all the time is the combined cost of the different ingredients that prevents them from cooking from scratch, which is where economics start to affect people’s choices. If you only have a certain amount in your purse and no further money available until next week what would you do? Buy a ready meal for a pound (knowing the quality is poor) or buy all the ingredients to make the same meal? Yes, you’ll have those ingredients for other meals, but right now, you don’t have the money to buy them all.
What is the solution to this dilemma? At EMERGE, we think the answer is cookery classes and clubs to share knowledge about how to cook affordable meals from scratch AND a store cupboard of recipe ingredients at class/club venues that people can access in the quantities they need so they can have the option of cooking for their family. Food Co-ops or buying groups are another way to keep the cost of food as low as possible and empower communities at the same time.
Debbie Ellen
At EMERGE we’re looking at working with FareShare Community Food Members (CFMs) to offer cookery classes to people, many of whom are in food poverty.
One question that comes up all the time, in discussions about food, healthy diets, the cost of food, etc, is the comparative cost of cooking ‘from scratch’ or buying a ready meal or takeaway.
Having a quick look online I came across this which raises some interesting issues.
One key issue people on low incomes talk about all the time is the combined cost of the different ingredients that prevents them from cooking from scratch, which is where economics start to affect people’s choices. If you only have a certain amount in your purse and no further money available until next week what would you do? Buy a ready meal for a pound (knowing the quality is poor) or buy all the ingredients to make the same meal? Yes, you’ll have those ingredients for other meals, but right now, you don’t have the money to buy them all.
What is the solution to this dilemma? At EMERGE, we think the answer is cookery classes and clubs to share knowledge about how to cook affordable meals from scratch AND a store cupboard of recipe ingredients at class/club venues that people can access in the quantities they need so they can have the option of cooking for their family. Food Co-ops or buying groups are another way to keep the cost of food as low as possible and empower communities at the same time.
Debbie Ellen
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