People in Torfaen are being encouraged to become foster carers.
As part of the Foster Care Fortnight campaign, running from May 13 to 26, Foster Wales Torfaen is urging residents to consider taking on this crucial role to support children and young people in need.
Recent research by Foster Wales, the local authority fostering services network, uncovered that prospective carers often hesitate to apply, believing they lack the necessary skills and experiences.
To combat these misconceptions, Foster Wales released a new cookbook -- Bring Something to the Table.
The collection highlights how foster parents can provide simple yet essential elements such as a regular meal, quality family time, and the creation of new food favourites for care children.
Bring Something to the Table features more than 20 recipes contributed by an array of individuals, notably from the foster care community and celebrity chefs such as MasterChef winner Wynne Evans, Young MasterChef judge Poppy O’Toole, Olympic athlete and foster care advocate Fatima Whitbread, comedian Kiri Pritchard Mclean and former Great British Bake-Off contestant Jon Jenkins.
Contributions from young people with care experiences, like Sophia Warner who illustrated the book and wrote the foreword, can also be found inside.
Sophia Warner said: "When I was younger, I vividly recall grilling my foster mum about the origins of the food she presented, insisting it hailed from Brecon, my beloved childhood stomping ground.
"I penned ‘Brecon Bolognese’ for the cookbook, based on my foster mum’s recipe.
"This recipe holds a special place in my heart because it was the first meal I had when I moved into my foster home."
To promote the book, Colleen Ramsey, the author of ‘Bywyd a Bwyd, Life Through Food’, is set to host a culinary workshop in Cardiff for youths with care experiences.
The cookbook will be widespread to foster carers across Wales and can be digitally downloaded from Foster Wales’ website.
Residents in Torfaen who feel they could bring something to the table by becoming local authority foster careers are urged to register their interest at the Foster Wales Torfaen website.
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