Free air fryers to help people cook more healthily

Air fryers are to be given out free by a community group that has been teaching people how to cook as part of a scheme to help them eat more healthily.

Meir Matters (MM), based in Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, has launched the initiative as part of a drive to improve the nutrition of those living locally.

It follows research by the University of Staffordshire that last month revealed the city was getting close to a humanitarian crisis, with food bank use on the increase.

Michelle Swift, director of MM, said they had previously run a course with slow cookers, adding "we're trying to run something similar that helps people save money, eat healthy, do it on a budget and reduce waste at the same time".

"If you're feeding a family using it as well, it's trying to be efficient, save them time and also something where they can get the family involved in cooking," Swift added.

Darren Jones used to attend cookery lessons at school, but said now he usually used a microwave or oven to cook ready-made meals.

"It's not healthy for you," he said. "I think that's a bigger problem in society.

"People don't look after their health – I know I don't as much as I should."

Swift added her group was there to help where it could.

"Nobody in Meir should be going hungry," she said.

"Anybody who's struggling can come to us – whether we provide an emergency food pack to keep them going for a few days, or whether we provide them with some pre-prepared, home-cooked meals."

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.