FOOD is many things to many people but to members of the Friendly Food Club it's a lifeline.

The club itself has now just been given a lifeline of its own to continue its work.

The club works puts on informal cookery workshops working with young families, older often isolated pensioners, refugees and asylum seekers.

Founder Tony Gibbons said: "The Friendly Food Club uses food preparation, cooking and eating together to break down barriers, build confidence and self-esteem and improve communication skills and community interaction.

"Without shouting about it with charts and statistics, healthy eating and food safety messages, cooking skills, food knowledge, diet and the feel good factor are improved almost without thinking.

"Our latest Food Bank project as been recognised with an award of £10,000 from the Awards for All Big Lottery fund allowing us to develop the project over six months and produce a blue-print we can roll out across the whole of Dorset next year.

"We are very thankful to West District Council and Healthwatch Dorset who funded a pilot project last year which established the feasibility and supported our Awards for All application."

Mr Gibbons added that the club will work with the Local Food Banks giving support to families struggling to cope with rising food prices and lack of cookeryand budgeting skills with demonstrations and workshops based on dozens of recipes developed and tested with pilot projects.

An integral part of the project and a new initiative agreed with the lottery, provides basic cooking equipment where needed and store cupboard ingredients such as herbs and spices - items rarely seen in the Food Bank collection points, a recognition for attendance and progress in the workshops.

Mr Gibbons added: "At the launch of the Beaminster Food Bank where we first broke the good news and agreed to work together we also agreed to pool our resources with Lesley Waters who is also working on Food Bank Cookery recipes."

The project will be promoted with cookery demonstrations initially at the Beaminster Food Bank, Road Shows in the outlying and villages and a series of free cookery workshops for parents and families at Beaminster School starting during half term and carrying throughout the spring and summer term.

Workshops will be held during the day for parents, with free lunch and a chat about what to do next. After school workshops for parents with their children will run from 3.30pm to 5pm.

Workshops will also be held during the Easter and summer holidays at the school and at local community events.

Mr Gibbons added: "We thank Keith Hales head teacher and the staff at Beaminster School who have welcomed the use of their newly re-furbished fully fitted kitchen for the workshops.

"The project outline is quitefluid at this stage as we want to be able to develop to meet the needs and suggestions of residents or groups who want to be involved. "The project is for local people and we really do welcome any residents, local groups and agencies who feel they would like to be involved.

"There are lots of great ideas out there, give them a voice."

For more information contact Tony Gibbons on 01308 868700 or tony.gibbons01@sky.com