YOUNGSTERS at Middlesbrough primary schools have a ‘souper’ healthy treat in store.

Middlesbrough Environment City (MEC) has teamed up with Tesco and other local supermarkets and Veg Cities to deliver a unique project to increase the amount of veg people eat.

With the focus firmly on fresh ingredients, the Soup Bag project is teaching home cooking skills and the value of eating healthier meals together within family budgets.

MEC will deliver simple cooking demos in schools on how to make tasty and healthy soups, and the school will then ‘adopt’ that soup as their own.

At the end of the session every pupil will be given a Soup Bag with all the ingredients for the school soup and a step-by-step simple recipe card to take home and cook with their family.

MEC Food Partnership Manager Joe Dunne said: “It’s well known that a healthy, balanced diet is vital, whether we’re at school, at work or at leisure.

“Fresh, nutritious soups are a great way to get the goodness we need, and they’re easy and cheap to make.

“The Soup Bag project will see our budding young chefs pick up valuable new skills which they can share with their families, and which will stand them in good stead in later life.”

Following the pilot scheme, MEC will work with Tesco and other local stores to roll out the Soup Bag project to more schools across Middlesbrough as part of the existing Hearty Beats initiative.

Growing sites on the school grounds will be utilised or set up so pupils will be able to grow the ingredients for the school soup.

Find out more www.menvcity.org.uk