Free slow cookers for Keynsham families

Families in Keynsham will be able to get a free slow cooker and energy advice thanks to a new project that’s just been awarded funding from the Bath and West Community Energy Fund.

Keynsham Community Energy is collaborating with Keynsham Children’s Centre, B&NES Cook It team of dietitians and the Centre for Sustainable Energy to help families cut their energy bills and CO2 emissions, eat more healthily and keep their homes warm.

They will be giving away slow cookers at Keynsham Children’s Centre’s Food Club sessions on February 9^th and 16th. Slow cooker meal tasters, a recipe booklet and store cupboard ingredient packs will also be free for people to take home.

During the Food Club sessions volunteers from Keynsham Community Energy will be on hand to give away window and door draught proofing, blankets and wheaty bags, and a specialist energy adviser from the Centre for Sustainable Energy will give professional advice to people struggling to pay their bills.

Slow cookers operate at a much lower temperature and use far less energy than a traditional cooker. They cost less than 16p per day to use, compared to around 33p for a gas cooker and 87p for an electric cooker.

They’re healthy and practical too, cooking hearty stews, curries, pasta dishes and even puddings during the day, so they’re ready for the evening meal. And because they’re energy efficient, they emit less CO2 into the atmosphere, helping combat climate change.

Liz Barling from Keynsham Community Energy said, “With the cost of living going through the roof, families in Keynsham are having to make the stark choice between heating and eating. Slow cookers will help cut energy bills and reduce CO2 emissions.”

Jed Parsons of Keynsham Children’s Centre said, “Families who come to our Food Club have weekly access to healthy, fresh food at affordable prices. Providing a slow cooker will help families cook nutritious food without breaking the bank.”

Sophie Hooper Lea, Chair of Trustees for the Bath & West Community Energy Fund said: “Over the past nine years Bath & West Community Energy has donated more than £300,000 surplus income from its renewable generating projects to the BWCE Fund. The fund supports community projects that cut carbon emissions or address fuel poverty. This project from Keynsham Community Energy does both these things and the trustees were very happy to support it.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

1. For more information about Keynsham Food Club contact Keynsham Children’s Centre on 01225 395400 or email brightstartcc@bathnes.gov.uk
2. Keynsham Community Energy is a Community Benefit Society dedicated to cutting our town’s carbon footprint by generating renewable energy and enabling and encouraging energy efficiency.
3. Keynsham Community Energy was awarded £2,700 by the Bath and West Community Energy Fund, which gives grants to projects that reduce carbon emissions and/or address fuel poverty in Bath and the surrounding area.
4. The Centre for Sustainable Energy’s specialist energy advisor, Jo Salisbury, will be giving advice at the Food Club on reducing energy bills, energy debt advice and ways to save money.