Every day there are reports of how the cost of living is increasing and how this is having the most negative effects on those who have least. It has never been more important to have access to reliable, accurate and up to date information about how to eat in a healthy way in order to live well and prevent health conditions such as diabetes. All this while spreading the shrinking food dollar further, and doing it all in a way that is satisfying and enjoyable to the whanau.
The origin of the Cook’n Kiwi, Healthy Eating on a Budget programme, was in the Counties Manukau Health Lets Beat Diabetes programme back in the early 2000's. It was initially run as a pilot in Mangere and then Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa took it on to re-develop for rollout across Auckland.
The first version of Cook'n Kiwi was launched in 2009 across the Auckland region, in particular to help meet the needs of vulnerable families and groups in our community. The programme proved to be popular and has continued to develop over time, including Train the Trainer capacity where facilitators from other groups and organisations could be upskilled and provided with the resources to train others.
Among the many organisations and groups Cook'n Kiwi delivers Train the Trainer (or directly to clients/groups) are community organisations, education providers, medical practices, health providers, social services, religious entities, kura, and many more.
The programme is fully funded by Te Whatu Ora and is delivered at no cost to participants. It is offered in five modules with flexible timing (on one day/over several days) and can include activities, resources, presentations and YouTube clips which can be shared with audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds. Download the information sheet here.
After delivery the Cook’n Kiwi team remains available for further support. This includes email follow-up sharing new (or requested) information and resources. Sometimes the team are asked to provide support to health expos, attend gatherings and events, and more specific targeted guidance such as teaching tips, menu planning, favourite recipe modification.
For the team it's a passion helping people boost their food, nutrition and purchasing knowledge so they can choose ingredients, prepare and cook meals that are budget friendly, enjoyable and make every bite count nutritionally.
Participants of the direct to client groups also report that they love the opportunity to share meal ideas with others in the group and with their family, describing they felt more confident about reading food labels and choosing foods that are nourishing.
Comments include:
“this is great – I don’t have to give up my favourite meals!” (Cooking traditional recipes with a healthy twist)
”How to cook beans and chickpeas – and make them tasty!”
“Using food parcel ingredients to make nutritious meals!”
If Cook'n Kiwi sounds like something you'd like to know more about, please contact the team at cooknkiwi@diabetesfoundationaotearoa.nz
Cook' Kiwi early branding.
