The Australian chef had already witnessed the good work of the project earlier this summer when he dropped in to see how they are helping older people in the area eat healthier. Come Eat Together is an Age UK project that aims to improve cookery skills and food awareness through dining clubs and regular classes.
The group is now celebrating after receiving 12,746 votes to be named the UK’s Best Health Project in the National Lottery Awards. The project didn’t just top the polls in its own voting category - it also received more votes than any other category winner.
It is well-deserved recognition for the tireless work of staff and volunteers who help to improve not only the health and wellbeing of their participants, but also provide an environment where older people can make friends and socialise.
Mr Torode said, “Come Eat Together is such a brilliant project. It provides good food and great company for older people.
“I know from experience, the food is delicious and the project is making such a difference to older people by tackling loneliness and isolation.
Age UK County Durham thoroughly deserve this National Lottery Award and I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the project.”
Harriet Gibbon, chief executive of Age UK Co Durham, said, “This is fantastic news. We are very grateful to everyone who voted for us – to know this award was decided by the public and so many people voted for us makes winning this award particularly special.”
Lottery ticket sales make initiatives like this possible as 28p of every £1 goes to the Good Causes Fund, which distributes a portion of lottery revenue to trusts, charities and projects across the UK. Last night’s winning UK Lotto numbers were 12, 22, 23, 27, 34 and 35 with the Bonus Ball 25. There were no winning jackpot tickets for the draw, meaning that Saturday’s jackpot will be a bumper £5.6 million and there will be 100 Lotto Raffle winners who will snap up prizes of £20,000 each. For a full breakdown of the prizes and a list of the winning raffle codes visit the Results Page at Lottery.co.uk. Tickets for the draw are on sale now.