South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 02/09/2013

The books were donated by Penguin Random House and Jamie Oliver, in partnership with the national charity The Reading Agency. South Gloucestershire Council’s library service will dispatch a copy of the book to the 13 libraries across the district.

It is Jamie’s mission that the book, which is a response to the overwhelming public demand for a cookbook about exciting food that doesn’t ‘break the bank’ should be made accessible to everyone, not just to the people who can afford to buy it.

South Gloucestershire library users will now have the chance to learn recession busting cooking skills for free.

Jamie Oliver said: "We know from the fabulous work that libraries do every day that everyone deserves a chance to learn basic skills that can improve everyday lives. Reading and cooking are two of those skills for sure. I’ll admit I’ve been a late developer with the first, but I can definitely help with the second."

Thanking Jamie, Martin Burton, Community Cultural Services Manager in South Gloucestershire, said: “Having access to free books and reading experiences is vitally important, especially when people are under financial pressure. Jamie’s mission to make good food accessible to all drives right at the heart of the role that libraries play to make good reading accessible to all – and there are many people in our community who will benefit from ‘Save with Jamie’. ”

The book aims to help families and communities under financial pressure to shop smart, cook clever, eat well and waste less. In the age of austerity, with spiralling food costs and the average family wasting £680 on food a year, Jamie’s mission is to make sure everyone can cook well.