Make Kit wants to help Hackney cook healthier evening meals. The local social enterprise, which launched this summer, delivers meal kits to offices in the borough that provide all the ingredients you need to make a nutritious dinner at home.

The business was established with the support of the Healthier Hackney Fund, which gives grants to companies trying to build a healthy borough. Inspired by NHS Research into the biggest barriers to healthy cooking at home (including the perceived high cost of healthy food, and a lack of time and knowledge when it comes to cooking from scratch) the firm completed a successful pilot funded by the NHS and Kickstarter at the start of the year.

Co-founders Stephen Wilson and Justine Fish have backgrounds in the food industry and management consultancy respectively. “We have heard a lot these last few weeks around how diet impacts health and particularly the health of children. The WHO organisation study showed worrying trends towards obesity as food marketing and policies make healthy meals too expensive for lower-income families, plus a tenfold increase in child obesity in 40 years,” said Fish. The business tackles this issue head-on, providing kits for as little as £2.60 per portion for a family of 4 and offering subsidised kits to low-income families. “This puts the building blocks in place towards a healthier diet and a healthier lifestyle,” she added.

Unlike other recipe kits, Make Kit delivers directly to the office; given how much time we spend at work, the business wants to encourage employers to help their staff live a healthier life. With increased productivity, fewer sick-days, and improved wellness, the positive impact on the workforce is clear.

So far, the company has distributed more than 600 recipe kits across the borough, subsidising around 100 kits through community cooking classes for young people and adults with Sebright Children’s School, Young Hackney, and Shoreditch Trust Food.

Jason Collins, who works at Hackney Council, said: “It’s a challenge finding vegetarian recipes that our children will eat. Since using Make Kit we are having a higher success rate and really enjoy getting them involved with the preparation and cooking!”

For local Haggerston customer Georgina, the main benefit is a reduction in waste: “I cook for myself and my daughter, what I have learnt with Make kit is portion size. I was cooking way too much and wasting a lot of food.”

Make Kit is offering free collection from PW at 4pm on Tuesdays, or delivery between 4.30pm-7.30pm on Tuesdays or Wednesdays  for £2.50. For 30% off recipe kits, use the code PERSEVERANCECOOKS.