National Vegetarian Week at North Yorkshire Youth
The 13th – 19th May was National Vegetarian Week. North Yorkshire Youth were thrilled to receive £200 of funding from The Vegetarian Society towards creating vegetarian themed evenings throughout ten of our 17 Direct Delivery Youth Clubs.
This funding allowed young people to try new foods, expand their taste buds and see vegetarian food in a new light. The young people who attended all took part in preparing and cooking the food, offering a chance to learn new skills and work as a team. Leaflets and information were provided on vegetarian diet and choices.
The evenings also incorporated National Mental Health Awareness week, the focus this year being body image, so the whole theme worked well in raising awareness of healthy body and mind. Some youth clubs also benefitted from visits from the Healthy Choices Teams who raised awareness on healthy diet and lifestyles choices.
Every Youth Club made a real effort to embrace the vegetarian theme. Eastfields and Filey were treated to vegetarian BBQ’s, including vegetable and fruit kebabs, as well as corn on the cob, which many young people had not tried before. Our Harrogate clubs sampled non-meat alternatives such as ‘Not Bacon Butties’. At Greatwood & Horseclose Youth Club they were lucky enough to experience home-made ‘chocolate’ humous, which they made from scratch with the help of one of our amazing community volunteers. Risedale, Leyburn and Bedale Youth Clubs planted herbs to take home and learnt how they can be used in cooking. The local Tesco at Catterick were also informed of our night and wanted to support by providing free fruit, which was enjoyed. Even in the venues where the kitchen facilities were limited the funding was fully utilised and appreciated, offering an array of cold buffets with a fine spread of vegetarian choices. A very healthy and fun week had by all.