News from Jamie Oliver’s Charity HQ: June 2013

A BIG HELLO FROM US

So many exciting things have been happening here at Jamie Oliver’s Better Food Foundation that it’s tricky to know where to begin... but the foundation is right at the heart of the Jamie Oliver businesses, so we think it’s important to keep you up to speed with all that’s been going on. After all, it’s the overwhelming passion of JO employees that really keeps the wheels of the foundation turning.

Every fortnight, we’ll be using this shiny new newsletter to bring you the latest news from Jamie Oliver’s charity HQ, filling you in on what’s been happening and what we’ve achieved. That way, you’ll be able to get – sending in your own ideas, fundraising independently or volunteering at events – and it’ll also equip you with the knowledge you need to answer any foundation-related questions your customers might throw at you. Ok cut the waffle – describe Jamie Oliver’s Better Food Foundation in one sentence… The foundation is a set of essential food-education programmes, all of which work to keep cooking skills alive, using the magic of food to inspire and empower individuals and communities to create a better future for themselves and others. So who’s involved? The foundation is managed by a small, dedicated team based in our London head office, supported by an amazing group of trustees and JO staff ambassadors – as well as all the people working on our projects around the country. The foundation is run by our brilliant CEO, Neil Lovell.

LET’S GET YOU UP TO SPEED

The Better Food Foundation – registered charity 1094536 – was founded by Jamie Oliver in 2002 (although it’s had a few name changes along the way). The charity began with the Fifteen Apprentice Programme (and accompanying TV documentary that helped to raise awareness).

In 2005, Jamie launched Jamie’s School Dinners (the TV documentary that revealed the fundamental problems within food education that are now being confronted by the Kitchen Garden Project), and in 2008, he launched the Ministry of Food, a community food-education programme, run by independent cooking schools across the UK. In 2010, we launched Jamie’s Home Cooking Skills, a BTEC Level 1 and 2 qualification developed by Jamie, the foundation and the exam board Edexcel. Jamie’s Home Cooking Skills provides students with all the resources and education they need to gain a formal culinary qualification, learning how to cook a range of healthy recipes for themselves and their families, and encouraging them to pass their knowledge on, keeping food skills alive.

Gennaro and Jamie on the demo stage at Food Revolution Day 2013

CONTINUED… In 2012 we hosted the first Food Revolution Day, a global day of action held annually in May, which encourages people to come together to make a stand for good food and essential cooking skills. Food Revolution Day is dedicated to raising awareness, focusing on three simple actions: cook it, share it, live it.

We work collaboratively with Jamie Oliver’s Food Foundation in the US and The Good Foundation in Australia, to help bring food education to life globally.

OUR CHARITY ACTIVITES

THE FIFTEEN APPRENTICE PROGRAMME

Best described as: A 12-month chef’s apprentice course for 18 disengaged, unemployed young people with an interest in food. The programme includes formal training at college, hands-on experience in the Fifteen restaurant, personal development activities, and work experience at a range of top-end restaurants. What’s so great about it? Alongside this widely respected culinary qualification, our apprentices are provided with an amazing network of support to help them confront their own personal issues and give them the confidence to create a better future for themselves. Graduates are also provided with the support needed to help them to find employment, and our Outreach Programme enables our graduates to then spread their new-found hope and passion further afield. Established when? Fifteen London was established in 2002, alongside the popular TV documentary. Since then, two franchise restaurants with associated Fifteen apprentice programmes have opened: one in Amsterdam (2004), and another in Cornwall (2006). Our aim: To increase our social reach through our Outreach Programme, and to inspire even more disadvantaged young people to follow their passion and find the confidence to really make something of their lives. What’s coming up? This year’s graduation! The London apprentices are into the final stage of their course, so there’s serious MasterChef-esque anticipation in the kitchen right now. We’ve also decided on the new gang of apprentices that will be joining us in September – it’s been really hard, but we’re excited to get the new guys on board.

123 Fifteen London graduates, to date

330+ Fifteen graduates worldwide

More than 80% Fifteen graduates still work in the

food industry

We are still in contact with over 95% of our graduates

For every £1 invested in the Fifteen Apprentice

Programme, £9.50 of social value is generated

Mandie and Danny from the Foundation team on Food Revolution Day 2013

JAMIE’S MINISTRY OF FOOD

Best described as: A range of independently run cooking schools across the UK, delivering engaging, community-focused programmes that teach basic cooking skills to attendees, inspiring healthier, better-informed food choices. We currently have Ministry of Food centres in Rotherham, Alnwick, Bradford, Leeds, Newcastle and Stratford. What’s so great about it? The Ministry of Food course teaches attendees how to cook healthy recipes on a budget, and how to shop economically for themselves and their families, equipping them with the essential knowledge and skills needed to create a better future.

Six Ministry of Food centres run cooking classes across the UK,

introducing 1000 people each month to essential cooking skills

Established when? The first Ministry of Food centre opened in Rotherham in 2008. The others have opened as a result of the hard work of individuals and communities campaigning to have a Ministry of Food centre in their local area. Our aim: To have a Ministry of Food centre in every city in the UK by 2022, to make these vital, life-saving cooking skills available to everyone. What’s coming up? A new Ministry of Food centre is now on the cards for the people of Manchester. Watch this space…

JAMIE’S KITCHEN GARDEN PROJECT

Best described as: A hands-on food-education programme, aiming to inspire children to get cooking, and to really understand the food that goes into their bodies. It’s made up of the Kitchen Garden Project, the Food Education Box Scheme (for schools with less kitchen facilities, consisting of Learn Your Fruit and Veg Cards) and Jamie’s Home Cooking Skills BTEC qualification. What’s so great about it? The Kitchen Garden Project isn’t about preaching or forcing children to eat the right thing – it’s about giving them the interactive food education they need so they really understand what they’re eating. The aim is to empower them to make better food decisions for themselves and their families in the future.

             

 We work with over 100 schools across

the country, creating a set of food-education resources for national

rollout in 2014

Jamie’s Home Cooking Skills is taught in over 600 centres across the UK,

with 12,000 participants enrolled on the course

 Primary school children taking part in a cooking lesson at Food Revolution Day 2013  

JAMIE’S KITCHEN GARDEN PROJECT cont…

Established when? In 2005, as part of Jamie’s School Dinners TV series, Jamie revamped the lunch menus of selected schools in Greenwich. With school food brought into the limelight, the Kitchen Garden Project was established by the foundation soon after, to tackle the problems that Jamie had exposed head-on. Our aim: To give every primary school child in the UK access to a Kitchen Garden Project by 2022, and to continue to inspire and empower children across the country by teaching them to cook and love good food. What’s coming up? Schools are about to break up for summer, but we’ve got some really exciting things on the cards for the next school year (starting in September) – we’ll be working with a further 10 pilot schools on the Kitchen Garden Project, and piloting our Learn Your Fruit and Veg Programme in 100 primary schools in the 2013-14 school year.  

THANK YOU TO THE JAMIE’S ITALIAN TEAM

We want to say a gigantic thank you to all you guys at Jamie’s Italian. We’ve had an amazing response during our visits to JI restaurants, where we’ve been filling you in on the foundation, and we’re really excited to have £1 bill donations now going live in JI restaurants across the UK. That £1 donation is going to make a huge difference and will go straight into our nationwide education programmes, helping to maintain the standards of our programmes and keep them running. Many people assume that Jamie should pay for all our programmes out of his own pocket. This, however, is neither possible, scalable nor reasonable, considering the fact that we’re confronting a global issue. Fundraising is essential if we’re to keep the foundation – and all the invaluable work associated with it – running. These £1 bill donations are going to take us that step closer to acquiring the funds needed to achieve our aims.

“My charity aims to inspire people to reconnect with food. It ’s al l about raising awareness and individual responsibil ity, resuscitating dying food culture around the world

and ultimately keeping cooking skil ls al ive. Cooking is without doubt one of the most important skil ls a person can ever learn.”

BYE FOR NOW We’ve probably overloaded you with information. Don’t worry though; the next fortnightly newsletter will be a lot shorter now that we’ve given you an overview of everything that’s happened over the last 11 years. Pease do get in touch if you’ve got any questions or ideas – we’d love to hear from you! Just email us at: info@betterfoodfoundation.com and we’ll get right back to you. PS. Alternatively for more information, visit our website at www.jamieoliver.com/foundation