New research released today by environmental charity Hubbub and Unilever reveals that essential cooking skills are at risk of being lost as children are not being given the time or opportunity to cook with their family.
The survey of 1,000 UK parents which explored family cooking habits revealed that eight out of 10 parents wish they had more time to teach their children to cook and over half expressed a concern that their children won’t have the skills needed to cook a meal for themselves when they grow up. The survey also indicated a growing reliance on convenience foods as the number of British families eating a home cooked meal at least six nights a week plummeted from around half (47%) 30 years ago to just 15% today.
In a bid to boost fading culinary skills and reconnect Brits to their food, Unilever and Hubbub are calling on households this Grandparents Day (2nd October) to get together and cook their favourite family recipes. With six in ten parents admitting to never cooking a meal from scratch with their children and only one in ten managing this more than once a week, the occasion marks an opportunity to bring families and generations closer together and pass on traditional recipes and essential cooking skills.
Charlotte Carroll, Sustainability Director for Unilever UK and Ireland said: “Our non-stop modern lifestyles and easy access to a variety of ready-made meals means many of us take for granted the true value of our food.
We need to inspire a love for food by showing our children the joys of cooking.
Not only will this encourage healthier eating but also help reduce avoidable food waste in the long term. Through our much loved household brands we are urging grandparents to cook a family favourite recipe this Grandparents Day with their children and grandchildren and to even make this a regular activity.”
Trewin Restorick, Founder and CEO of Hubbub said “Will our children’s children be able to cook a roast? Make pastry? Whip up a lasagne? Cooking skills are essential if we want to use up leftovers and maximise the value from our food and tackle the 7 billion tonnes of food wasted in the UK each year. We want to show how cooking can be used this Grandparents Day to inspire an appreciation of the food we eat and the precious time we spend with our families.”
Grandparents Day (2nd October 2016) is a day to honour grandparents and to help children become aware of the wisdom older people have to offer. With 68% of parents indicating that they would like their children to spend more time cooking with their grandparents, the awareness day provides the perfect opportunity for older generations to share their knowledge and culinary skills with younger generations.
To mark the occasion, Unilever and Hubbub are creating a treasury of delicious, child-friendly family recipes to inspire other grandparents to get cooking with their grandchildren. Whether it’s apple crumble, hotpot or a fish pie, visit www.hubbub.org.uk and share your favourite family recipe along with a photo of you cooking with your family. The best will be featured in a special recipe collection for Grandparents’ Day on the Hubbub website.