Charity recipe book 'helps tackle food insecurity'

People struggling to afford healthy meals have been benefitting from a recipe book by a Shropshire charity, created to tackle food insecurity.

The free books, which are available from Hands Together Ludlow, contain recipes designed to help households make nutritious meals using everyday ingredients.

The charity said the guides have proved so popular that volunteers are regularly replenishing stocks, with copies being picked up every day.

Emma-Jane Brazier, chief operating officer at Hands Together, said research found more than 1,000 people in Ludlow previously needed support with food insecurity in a single year, while hundreds of children required food aid.

She said people were often surprised by what they could create from basic cupboard staples.

"Sometimes you just need to throw a few things in there to make a really tasty and nutritious meal," Brazier told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"People start talking about it whilst they come into our community fridge, saying that they didn't realise they could make such a delicious one-pot meal with basic cupboard essentials."

The book includes recipes such as one-pot pasta bakes and tuna fishcakes, as well as meal ideas for people with food intolerances or type 2 diabetes, and advice for single-person households looking to save money.

Brazier added: "Anybody who wants to pop into our community fridge is more than welcome to come and take one, try some recipes, tell us which ones your favourites are, and then we can recommend those to all the other people that come in."

The books were produced in partnership with Ludlow Food Bank, Ludlow Town Council and Ludlow Foyer.

In December, the town's food bank said the number of people it was helping had tripled.

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