Food Tales from Honeypot
Whether it’s ice cream at the beach, Christmas dinners or takeaways with the family, food can be a big part of our favourite childhood memories. So it’s no surprise that mealtimes at Honeypot are a highlight for many of our kids.
It’s not just about the food: it's sometimes hard for young carers to find the time for a sit down meal with family, so we make sure everyone has the chance to sit down around the table together. It's also a great time to check in emotionally, talk about things that matter and reflect on the day together.
For many children, there’s also the opportunity to try new foods that they’ve not had at home. Some children are a bit hesitant at first, but most get stuck in with a bit of encouragement and are very proud of themselves for trying something new.
Many young carers will be cooking and washing up on a regular basis at home, so our team make sure everything is done for them at Honeypot. However, we’re always there to help out if anyone’s keen to do baking – whether it’s making Halloween spider jelly, decorating biscuits or having a bake-off, it’s a great activity for English weather!
Here are some of our staff, kids and parents on why food at Honeypot means so much…
Chrissy, Team Leader
“We’ve done a Honeypot Bake Off before where the kids who want to take part design their own cake and make it. Then we all try them and we have a vote as to which is our favourite at the end and they win a prize.
“Baking is a special opportunity to a lot of our children because they may not get it at home. Often it is an opportunity for them to spend time with a staff member on a one-to-one or small group basis and they often confide in us or share things with us while cooking or baking. Many children also have a lot of pride when they make something that the whole group eats and enjoys.
"The Christmas Tea is also a big occasion and we really go all out. This year we had finger sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, Christmas biscuits, fairy cakes, sausage rolls, crisps, veggie sticks and dip. We also had homemade mince pies that the children had done earlier in the day. The tiered plates were lent to us by some local supporters."
Tom and Emily, Honeypot Children
Emily: The food is one of the best bits actually! Breakfast is Tom’s favourite meal of the day.
Tom: Because they have loads of fruit and toast and cereal and pancakes…
Emily: It’s like an endless amount of courses! You finish one and they seem to bring out more and more food, so you’re never hungry. All the staff do the cooking for you, they lay the table, do the washing up, you just sit down and eat it and you’re back off to playing again.
Martin, SEAL Break Leader
“When I started at Honeypot, I was a bit nervous catering for twenty, but it’s been great fun! Our ‘world banquet’ night, where we try new foods from around the world, was actually a big hit. We had one girl who’d only eat bread and cheese, but at the banquet she demolished a chicken korma! The chance to try new things is a key part of SEAL breaks, helping the children to learn to manage risk in a safe environment.”
Bella (Honeypot child)'s mum
“Bella said she had an amazing time at Honeypot and was really proud of herself as, with staff encouragement, she tried some new foods as well. She's talked about her weekend all this week.”
Nikita, Team Leader
"Mealtimes are a big deal for our Honeypot children. Last weekend, one boy said his high point was the Christmas dinner we held, since he’d never had one at home before. “The dinner table is somewhere a lot of important conversations happen. Another child who came to us had just recently become a young carer and was struggling with the change; he didn’t think he needed to be at Honeypot and was reluctant to take part in activities. One evening, he was chatting with a girl around the dinner table, who mentioned that her mum was poorly and in a wheelchair; as he said ‘Me too,’ you could see it dawn on him that the other children there were in the same situation as him and that they’d understand what he was going through. After that he got stuck in to everything!”
