NLTG launch free cooking course with Hyndburn Food Pantry to help combat hike in electric costs

Accrington-based training provider North Lancs Training Group (NLTG) have teamed up with the Hyndburn Food Pantry once again, this time to offer a free five-week slow cooker course which will also see participants receive a free slow cooker.

The first course will get underway on Tuesday 17th May 2022 at NLTG’s Old Bakery Centre on Grange Lane in Accrington (BB5 2BU). Sessions, which will be run by NLTG staff and will include information, cooking lessons and tasters, will last two hours at a time, taking place from 10am until 12pm.

Running every Tuesday until 14th June, the first class will focus on nutrition and healthy cooking, as well as the savings that can be made using a slow cooker compared to the pre-paid electric cost of using an oven.

Research has shown that slow cookers when left on all day use less electricity than conventional lightbulbs, using between 1.2-1.7 kWh of electricity to cook a meal for eight hours, while in comparison, a standard oven will use 2.4 kWh per hour on average. That means using a standard slow cooker will cost you just 32p to run for eight hours, compared to £5.36 for an electric oven.

On the second week of the course each attendee will be given a slow cooker, free of charge and appropriate to their family size, while there will also be a live cookery demonstration and taster session. 

From week two, anyone taking part in the course will receive a voucher which can be used at The Food Pantry on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday to collect ingredients to then make a meal at home using knowledge of what they have learned and their brand new slow cooker. Ingredients will be stocked weekly as per the sessions.

Carl Morris, JCP Provision Manager at NLTG, said: “This is another fantastic development in our relationship with the Hyndburn Food Pantry. Stacy and her team do an amazing job at The Food Pantry and we are delighted to support them in their great work.

“Everyone knows about the issues being faced on electricity costs and we hope this course will help make a big difference to people in our local community”.

Stacy Walsh, organiser at Hyndburn Food Pantry, commented: “We can’t thank North Lancs Training Group enough for hosting and running this course with us.

“While the sessions are limited to 20 people, we do intend to run them on a more regular basis. All the classes and the ingredients are to be provided free of charge and each session will also be videoed and posted online at www.nltg.co.uk in case anyone wants a refresher.”

To learn more about the course and to get your booking form, please email [email protected].

NLTG supports local people with Apprenticeships, Study Programmes, Traineeships, Commercial Courses and Courses for Job Seekers. You can learn more about these opportunities by visiting www.nltg.co.uk or by calling 01254 395 355.