Kirstie Levell Visits Leicester City In The Community’s HAF Programme
- Leicester City in the Community provided a Holiday Activation Fund over Easter
- The four-day HAF programme was funded by the Department for Education and Leicester City Council
- With a focus on female engagement, participants took part in various enrichment opportunities
- LCFC Women goalkeeper Kirstie Levell was on hand to take part in some of the activities
Delivered to young female participants during the Easter holidays, the programme is part of Leicester City Council's and the Department for Education’s Holiday Activation Fund (HAF).
Taking place in the Community Hub on Filbert Way, 30 participants engaged in a series of personal development workshops, including a cooking workshop delivered by LCitC partners, Smart Raspberry, and supported by Venner Nutrition.
Speaking at King Power Stadium, Levell discussed her thoughts on the morning activities: “I’ve had a good time talking to all of the girls and learning the types of things that they cook at home.
"I can speak from experience that I wish I was taught these types of things when I was younger. I’m impressed to be honest – at their age I wasn’t able to make half the things they can make!”
The Foxes shot-stopper started the day with a Q&A about her career path and food and nutrition before joining the girls in making their own calzone pizzas.
Each participant had the opportunity to create their own pizza dough from scratch, and decide which toppings they wanted to add onto their meal.
At the end of the day, the young people could take their calzones home with them, along with the easy-to-follow recipe card.
Anema Mistry, Area Manager at Smart Raspberry, led the cookery session and expressed the importance of learning how to cook and follow a recipe.
She commented: “It allows the children to come in and learn a really valuable life skill, as well as learning the importance of using fresh fruit and vegetables to provide and cook for themselves.
“Parents, grown-ups and young adults may not have the time to do these sorts of activities at home, so we provide that opportunity for them.”
As well as taking part in personal development sessions, participants also had access to enrichment activities. These included a skateboarding session, bowling, crazy golf, an afternoon at Ninja Warrior Leicester and a tour around King Power Stadium.
Saina, a participant on the HAF programme, reflected on her day so far: “I’ve learnt how to knead – I didn’t properly know how to do that before.
"I’ve also learnt to try new things; I’m a picky eater, but I added a lot of things that I don’t think I’d normally have on pizza. I’ve always wanted to cook, but I’ve never been able to put myself forward to learn how to.”
All participants that attended the HAF programme will benefit from unlimited access to Venner’s Kitchen, Venner Nutrition’s online platform where they can watch cooking videos, learn about nutrition, planet-friendly cooking, and find hundreds of affordable, family meals.
Going forward, the Holiday Activity Fund forms an important part of Leicester City in the Community’s food poverty strategy which will be developed over the coming months.
You can watch Kirstie Levell’s visit to the HAF programme HERE.
To find out more information about the HAF programme or LCitC’s food poverty strategy, contact Community Engagement Manager, Dan Mitchinson: dan.mitchinson@lcfc.co.uk.