Our Ingredients for Life Programme, in conjunction with Asda, and supported by major food businesses around the country, is now up and running, and has already shown to improve the lives of modern slavery survivors.

Participants, who have typically experienced forced labour, forced sex work, or forced domestic servitude, recorded a 58% reduction in the impact of their exploitation on their daily lives thanks to taking part in the course.

Pilot sessions, which saw participants attend cooking courses run by professional chefs in innovation kitchens, were so successful at raising the confidence and skill set of survivors, that the scheme has now been adopted by numerous other food production companies, with room for more to come on board.

Causeway’s Research and Development Manager Sarah Sanabria, said: “Ingredients for Life offers a holistic approach in the recovery of people who have experienced exploitation. It’s designed to create tangible change in the lives of survivors of modern slavery, and we have already seen significant positive outcomes. These include a reduction in the fear of men in female survivors; a decrease in the hold of eating disorders; increased confidence to leave the house and use public transport; increased engagement with support services, as well as healthier eating and improved cooking skills. These incredible results show that this is more than just a cookery course, it is a tool that can help survivors to overcome trauma and break through barriers in their lives.”

Anna Smith, Asda’s Modern Slavery Subject Matter Expert, said: “We are now at the stage where we want to extend the programme’s reach much further and we hope that many more businesses and partners will join us in delivering lessons directly.  Having seen first-hand the impact the programme has had, not only on survivors, but for colleagues that have been involved in delivering the lessons, I’d encourage any business or charity to learn more about the initiative and get involved.”

Andy York, from Pilgrim’s UK, will help host an Ingredients for Life course at their innovation kitchen later in the summer.

He said: “We are keen to be involved in the Ingredients for Life scheme as it’s the next step on our pathway to supporting victims of modern slavery back into a normal life in the UK. Our development teams have been so passionate about being involved, and it’s helped to educate and engage our wider teams on modern slavery and the survivor journey.”

 “When I started the Ingredients for Life course I was struggling with going outside the house, but the course motivated me. It helped with my fear and slowly made me confident that I can do this and it’s not as scary to be outside as it was in my head.” (course participant)

Click here for more information on how to get involved: https://www.wearecauseway.org.uk/partnerships/ingredients-for-life/