We are delighted to report on the launch of a major piece of Authentic Youth Voice & Influence, which has originated with an idea from a number of Youth Reps, including Germaine, a Kelvin Hall Student, who has been the city's Deputy Young Mayor.
The Hull’s Young Mayor and Youth Representatives (Youth Reps) are a voluntary group of 20+ young people aged 11 to 17 years old. The members of the group volunteer their own time to meet weekly and discuss the policies and services that are important to them. Discussions have led to the development of several projects such as the latest: the ‘Food & Solutions’ website launching this month.
‘Food & Solutions’ began following conversations young people have had with local organisations, such as Hull Food Partnership, over the last two years. As a result, the group carried out their own research and found that young people in Hull face many barriers to accessing quality food and finding community support.
After the group lobbied several potential funders, Smile Foundation awarded them £1900, matched by our council’s Leader’s Fund. The group have since developed the content for the ‘Food & Solutions’ website, including writing their own tried and tested affordable recipes and the promotional campaign materials with an aim of supporting young people’s health & wellbeing.
‘Food & Solutions’ contains a range of information including affordable recipes as well as facts and tips about nutrition. It also provides the details of local organisations that provide quality food support, such as food banks. The website aims to equip young people with information that they can share with their families and friends.
The group have developed a campaign to launch the website to their peers which started earlier this week. The launch campaign activity starts with events at several of our youth centres and youth groups including:
· Bridges The Pennine Rambler on Bransholme
· Hessle Road Network
· Andrew Marvel Youth Centre
Youth Reps will attend these launch events to share the resources from the website and facilitate fun activities and cooking some of the website’s recipes including the ’Young Mayor’s Rice Dish’.
Packs of marketing material, containing posters and ‘Food & Solution’ stickers (which includes a QR code to access the website) will also be sent to our secondary schools, community centres, pharmacies and libraries.
‘We are extremely excited to see the campaign happen because it is so powerful. We have a strong sense of pride regarding our work and hope it will have a positive impact on many people.’ (Youth Reps)
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