Charity teams up with YO!Sushi to host free cooking classes for children

Children took time out of their school holidays to get to grips with the Japanese delicacy.

While sushi has become ever more popular in the UK, it hasn't yet made it to every corner of the Black Country.

So specialists YO! Sushi bought their food bar into the community, allowing 80 children at Brasshouse Community Centre in Smethwick to get stuck in and taste their creations.

Action Against Hunger UK partnered with the sushi firm to host the classes.

Attendees started out by making cucumber maki, before moving on to moved onto ‘inside out’ Californian rolls with more exotic crab sticks and avocado filling.

The children and their families also made tempura shrimp and tofu sushi, but by the end of the sessions people were enjoying mixing and matching whatever they wished.

Lucy Cottle from Action Against Hunger, said: "When we spoke to the children before the class we found out many of them hadn’t eaten sushi before, and weren’t sure whether they would like it.

"But as soon as the class started, everyone became really curious and had a great time.

"For most, it was their first time trying ingredients like tofu, avocado and wasabi. They all loved becoming what the YO! Sushi team called ‘Sushi Masters’ and took home certificates and recipes cards to share with their family and friends."

The free classes took place during the Easter holidays, a time when many children do not have as much access to vital food support from their schools as they would in term time.

Action Against Hunger has already partnered with the Smethwick centre, setting up a social supermarket at Brasshouse in 2020 to help vulnerable households access nutritious foods.

The social supermarket enables members to pay £4 - due to increase to £5 next month - and pick fresh fruit and vegetables for themselves so they can make a week's worth of healthy meals for their family which are worth £30.

Jenn Harrison BEM, chief executive of North Smethwick Development Trust and the Brasshouse Community Centre, said "Opening social supermarkets as a more dignified solution to food banks is not a new concept.

"However, with reports that 14 per cent of UK adults living with children had struggled to provide food for their family in 2020, it is becoming increasingly important to meet the demands for these types of services."

"With an expected influx of refugees in the UK following the Ukraine crisis as well as other countries, we’ve got to be prepared to settle individuals coming from overseas, but also offer things that are familiar and comforting to them.

"The emotions attached to fear and anxiety and stress often manifest in physical forms.

"If somebody is hungry, it means there are other things happening in their home.

"People, through absolutely no fault of their own, come here to get support.

"You have to imagine what it takes for somebody sitting at home hungry to get to the point to then have to go to somebody in their local community and ask for help – it is huge.

"By the time that person walks through the door, there cannot be any barriers to what they access because they’ve already put themselves through turmoil. It is not easy to ask for help."

Hannah Sanders, head of partnerships at Action Against Hunger UK, added: "Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve seen a huge increase in the need for schemes like the social supermarket here in Smethwick.

"Running free sessions, like the one today, to support families across the UK is vital to our mission at Action against Hunger.

"It’s just incredible to see so many people come together to learn about food and nutrition – and, most importantly, have fun!

"We can’t thank our incredible partners YO!Sushi and the community Brasshouse centre enough for making this happen."