A food education charity is celebrating a first year in which it has trained more than 1,000 people face-to-face in Carmarthenshire, expanded work across five Welsh counties, and sparked national conversations about the future of food, health and skills in Wales.
Launched in late 2024 and beginning delivery in January 2025, Cegin y Bobl (The People’s Kitchen) was created to tackle the root causes of diet-related disease by equipping communities with essential cooking skills.
At a time when excess weight among children is projected to cost the NHS £74bn over their lifetimes, and diabetes already consumes nearly 10% of the Welsh NHS budget, the charity argues that hands-on, practical food education is one of the country’s most powerful tools for change.
Across its first year, the organisation delivered a suite of programmes including Food Discovery for primary pupils, Family Cook Clubs, school and community leadership programmes, Early Years cookery, youth empowerment projects and home cookery courses.
Karen Towns, Headteacher at Ysgol Gynradd Llandeilo, said:
“Cegin y Bobl has had a real impact on both our families and our pupils here at Llandeilo. The free cookery sessions have helped families build confidence in preparing affordable, healthy meals at home, and have created a warm space where people feel valued, not judged.”
The charity has deepened its work in Carmarthenshire while successfully piloting programmes across Wales, from rural communities to urban areas. Its work has shown that when teachers, support staff and community organisations gain confidence and practical skills, the ripple effects are far-reaching — having a positive effect on school culture, boosting family engagement and normalising healthy, affordable food.
The Future Generations Commissioner has echoed the call for improved food literacy across public services.
Cegin y Bobl’s upcoming projects include the launch of Cegin Llanelli, a new monthly community cookalong. On January 22nd, Cegin y Bobl will host a free feast bringing the community of Carmarthen together, in partnership with LocalMotion. And, beginning in February, weekly sessions will take place at the Flying Start Centre in Trimsaran, supporting local parents with baby nutrition.
Cegin y Bobl’s co-founder, author and broadcaster Carwyn Graves, says the charity’s first-year achievements show that Wales can lead the way in tackling health inequalities through practical food education.
He said:
“The need for cooking skills as a foundation of health, community and dignity has never been greater. Our first year shows that change is possible – and communities across Wales are hungry for it. We just need to harness the community pride and passion that there is across our country to help change how we feed ourselves, for good.”
Cegin y Bobl now aims to scale its programmes across Wales. It is launching a public appeal to help expand its work so that more families, schools and communities across Wales can access transformative cooking skills.
Members of the public can support the charity’s next phase of growth by donating at: justgiving.com/campaign/stirupchange
