OUR STORY SO FAR

That little red onion in our logo isn't just a great ingredient – it’s also a nod to the origins of Nourish Food School - the red onion logoed social enterprise, Food Nation CIC.

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For more than a decade, Food Nation innovated countless projects that use food to tackle public health concerns – including the well-established Cookery School. Most recently, their Men’s Pie Club initiative has been making astonishing progress in addressing issues of social isolation, loneliness and mental health in men.

As Food Nation continues to evolve, and as demand for food education grows - Nourish Food School was ready, proud and excited to take forward the work of the Cookery School in it’s own right as a brand new social enterprise.

This is also allowing the future of Men’s Pie Club to build and make a difference in mental health. Nourish Food School is now challenging diet-related ill health and food insecurity across Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside.

 

Joanna Lacey, Food Nation Director since 2015, stepped across to launch and lead Nourish Food School. Food Nation Food Skills Trainers also joined the Nourish team, bringing their experience and passion for food education to the new organisation. Nourish Food School and Food Nation continue to work closely and support each other in their complementary social goals.

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That word 'nourish' isn't just a nice foodie word - it has a bigger meaning and keeps the Nourish Team focussed on the social purpose. We are all about remembering that to 'nourish' is to provide tools needed to live, be healthy, develop or grow stronger. Food experiences create opportunities to do that for physical health, for mental health, for the health of a community or workplace and so much more.

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"The ambition for Nourish Food School is not solely to teach someone how to chop that onion. It's about establishing good food behaviours, building resilience through skills and confidence, and seeing people come together to share in experiences and memories.

Everyone has a relationship with food. The more positive that relationship can be then surely the greater chance there is for improved health across whole communities. These are the skills, behaviours and relationships that will then be passed from one generation to the next and can create healthier communities long into the future."

- Joanna Lacey, Founder and CEO

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You can read more about our company ambitions, plans and what we do in our welcome book

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