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Eating Well Together

Cooking and eating together can make it feel less like a chore; it is a lovely way to bring people together and has benefits for the whole family.

Cooking together as a family can be the perfect time to bond with one another and improve everyone’s communication and problem-solving skills.

For children, it’s the perfect opportunity to get involved and learn some important food preparation and cooking skills.

You can pick a day of the week where you enjoy a meal with your family and/or friends and use it as a chance to share recipe ideas, try different foods and organise your friends and family to take part in different preparation tasks.

Eating together has amazing benefits to health & well-being, such as:

  • Feeling happier and satisfied with life
  • Feeling more connected to your local community, having more friends and a wider support network
  • Lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease; eating together positively impacts your mental well-being, which then positively impacts your physical health (such as reducing your blood pressure). Lowered blood pressure then lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease
  • Encourages children to eat a more balanced diet
  • Reduces everyone’s risk of becoming obese
  • Positively impacts children’s self-esteem; not only does it give them the opportunity to talk about their day but by encouraging them to take part in the dinner time routine (setting the table or tidying up) can help them to feel valued and heard.

Get involved with your local community; the Integrated Well-Being Network website has a range of local opportunities like volunteering at a food bank or community kitchen. You can also use the Dewis Cymru website to search for local cooking classes or food-based events; you can filter your search by postcode, the clubs within a specific distance from your postcode and the facilities available at the venue (e.g. accessibility options, baby changing facilities etc.).

You may also like to take a look at our section on Moving More Together, with local sports clubs, group activities and more to discover through your local Integrated Wellbeing Network.