A local food bank has found a new recipe for support: give people the skills, not just the supplies.

It started when Glynis Blake, chair of Liphook Food Bank, spotted a woman at the checkout in Sainsbury’s with a trolley full of baked beans. Curious, she asked what they were for. The woman was Sophie Neish, founder of Sophie Cooks, a community cooking initiative. She explained that the beans were for a cooking session with food bank clients in Alton – part of her mission to teach people how to cook healthy, affordable meals from scratch.

Now, Liphook Food Bank has teamed up with Sophie Cooks to run weekly classes for local families, showing them how to turn food bank ingredients into simple, affordable and satisfying home-cooked meals.

The free sessions, held at Liphook Church Centre, focus on practical skills like batch cooking, reading food labels, and making low-cost versions of popular takeaways. Each week, participants take part in a group discussion, watch a live demonstration, then cook the dish themselves under Sophie’s guidance.

“At our food bank, we want to support people, but we also want them to be able to support themselves,” said Glynis. “People are learning to cook, eat better, and share what they’ve learned at home. The response has been really positive.”

So far, three blocks of sessions have been delivered, with around eight to ten people attending each week. Participants take home a freshly cooked meal after each class, and transport is provided if needed.

“The fakeaway meals have been a game changer,” said one attendee. Another added: “I’ve learned so much – it’s made a real difference.”

Funded by grants and donations, the project now hopes to expand across East Hampshire.

“It’s about giving people the skills to cook at home, even with limited resources – and to enjoy doing it,” said Sophie.