Food boxes which inspire young people to cook meals from scratch were donated to YMCA Romford.

Over the Christmas period, the charity received enough Take and Make boxes from Kitchen Social – a programme funded by the mayor of London Sadiq Khan - for 140 children.

That is 70 mains and 70 desserts packages.

Kitchen Social addresses food insecurity and was the largest independent provider of food for children in London during the school holidays, according to the Mayor's Fund for London.

Romford Recorder: The Kitchen Social food boxes aim to get young people cooking at homeThe Kitchen Social food boxes aim to get young people cooking at home (Image: YMCA Thames Gateway)

Each Take and Make box contains ingredients for a meal for four people along with a recipe card.

Fundraising manager for YMCA Thames Gateway Group, Emma Middleton, said YMCA Romford was “delighted” to receive “so many” food boxes.

She added: “The feedback has been amazing and just shows how invaluable this support is to many of the families we work with.

“It's also a wonderful way of teaching young people how to cook from scratch and for them to learn that food doesn't just come out of a tin.”

YMCA Romford supports 148 young people and offers an additional 61 move-on flats to support independent living.