Member Article

North East-based social enterprise Cook Yourself Happier receives National Lottery Community Fund grant

North East-based social enterprise Cook Yourself Happier has received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to help people improve their mental health through cooking and food.

The North East-based social enterprise will use the funding to create a series of podcasts and recipe videos using ingredients proven to invoke a positive change in well-being and mental health. The range of recipes is also designed to accommodate the mood of the cook on any given day.

Founded by chef Catriona Macdougall, Cook Yourself Happier was launched in late-2016 as a way for Catriona to share her experiences of food and cooking, and help her manage her own Bipolar diagnosis. Catriona and the team aim to support people affected by mental health issues by helping them to prepare healthy, delicious meals and learn cooking techniques.

Catriona said: “I received the email from the National Lottery Community Fund and just burst into tears. We’re all chuffed to have received the backing and very excited to get going.

“We’ve had to change how we deliver our work a little in 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic, but this funding will allow us to take our in-person workshops and deliver them to people through new recipe videos and podcasts. We also expect to be able to reach many more people by having these online for people to watch and listen to at home in their own time rather than having to come to one of our sessions.

“It’s really exciting to be able to get going on this new track. We’re planning our recipes and booking in podcast guests, and we will be starting to get content out there for people in the coming weeks.”

Cook Yourself Happier recipes will be shared via videos and blog posts and sit alongside the new podcasts, which will be launched in November.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dean Bailey .