Interactive learning
Our EatWell guide floormat, replica food items, and leaflets are included.
Introducing CHEW: A resource to support healthy cooking on a budget
Cook Healthy Eat Well (CHEW) is a two-part intervention designed to support adults experiencing food insecurity to make small, achievable changes to how they cook and eat. CHEW was co-developed with people with lived experience of food insecurity and third sector organisations and is grounded in behavioural-science frameworks. It focuses on building confidence, reducing barriers, and supporting realistic improvements rather than aiming for perfect eating.
Third sector staff are encouraged to borrow the Resource Box for use in their sessions and distribute Toolkits to clients who may benefit.
To arrange use of the Resource Box or obtain hard copies of the Toolkit, please contact project leader Abbie Stephen.
The CHEW Resource Box
The Resource Box contains a series of practical resources and activities that third sector staff, community groups or schools can borrow and use with clients in different settings, including group sessions, family groups, with children and young people or in one-to-one support. The activities are designed to be hands on, accessible, and supportive of conversations around healthy eating, food budgeting, and building confidence in cooking. So, what’s inside the Resource Box?
Portion size activity
Learn about how big our portions should be
Fat and muscle replicas
See and feel what 1lb of fat and muscle look like
Kitchen Conversions
Learn how to measure without kitchen scales
Quick swaps
See how you can make meals cheaper and healthier through quick swaps
EatWell guide floormat
Learn about the EatWell guide
Sugary foods
Learn how much sugar is in our favourite foods
Family friendly books
A selection of family friendly books
Handouts
Additional information on accessing support for healthy eating
Our Resource Box materials
Real life examples
Read about examples of common sugary foods and see physical representations of sugar cubes to assist learning.
Visualising portioning
Including plates designed to help understand food portioning.
The difference between fat and muscle
Learn about how fat and muscle look and feel through the use of physical replicas.
The CHEW Toolkit
The CHEW Toolkit is a ring-binder resource designed to be given directly to adults experiencing food insecurity. It is flexible and can be personalised; participants can remove sections they don’t need and add their own recipes, tips, or tools they find useful by simply hole-punching and inserting them. The toolkit supports small, manageable changes, helping individuals build skills and confidence in a way that feels achievable and empowering.
How CHEW was developed
Our collaborative approach ensures CHEW is relevant, realistic, and sensitive to the lived experiences of the people it aims to support. CHEW is grounded in behavioural science and was created through:
Co-development with local third sector organisations
Feedback from adults experiencing food insecurity
Testing with intended users
Research investigating barriers to achieving a healthy diet under food-insecure conditions
More about the work behind CHEW
Read lay summaries of our research