FOLLOWING success across the North West, national housing association Riverside and social business Can Cook are rolling out their affordable healthy eating programme Well Fed into the Wirral.

Funded by The Riverside Foundation, the initiative offers a mobile shop service, free cookery sessions and a Meal Box programme to help residents access budget-friendly, healthy and fresh food and build lifelong skills and the confidence to cook healthy meals independently.  

As part of the Meal Box programme, Wirral residents will be able to receive meal boxes free of charge for their 1st 4 weeks.

The expansion follows strong results in Langley, Middleton and Colshaw Farm in Cheshire, where more than 285 households have been supported with meal boxes and cookery training, 1,041 customers have used the mobile shop and over 31,000 healthy, affordable meals have been provided in the last 2 years alone. 

With more than 2,000 Riverside homes in the Wirral and Can Cook having well-established local partnerships, the programme is well placed to reach many communities across the peninsula.

Well Fed launched in the Wirral this spring and the new mobile shop service will begin to operate a full timetable from June. 

Visiting key locations twice weekly, the shop will offer nutritious everyday food items, ready meals and family-friendly meal boxes at affordable prices to make it easier for residents to buy low-cost, healthy food close to home. 

Mobile shop weekly schedule

Every Tuesday starting from:- Tuesday 2 June 2026:-

·       10am to 10:45am – Blair Court, Prenton, CH43 1UR

·       11am to 12pm – Bushell Court, Oxton, CH43 1UX

·       12.15pm to 1pm – Hobhouse Court, Birkenhead, CH43 4YJ

·       1.15pm to 2.15pm – Poulton Vale, Rankin St, Wallasey, CH44 5TQ

 
Every Thursday starting from:- Thursday 4 June 2026:-

·       10am to 10.45am – St Peter’s Court, Rock Ferry, CH42 1RW

·       11am to 11.45am – Penshurst Close, Birkenhead, CH42 2EH

·       12pm to 12.45pm – Woodchurch Court, Birkenhead, CH42 9QQ

·       1pm to 2.30pm – St James Centre, Birkenhead, CH41 7AL


The Well Fed mobile shop is open to everyone across the Wirral. Residents can also pre-order items up to one week in advance of the shop visiting their area. 

Like last year, pricing will continue to be subsidised to ensure affordability. Ready meals will cost £2.25 while cook at home slow cooker bags and cook easy recipe packs will be priced between £4.50 to £7.50 to feed 4 people.

New research from Can Cook sadly shows that healthy food remains unaffordable for around 50% of the population in the UK. 

Now in its 3rd year, the Well Fed programme is a 3-year £1 million investment by the Riverside Foundation to tackle food inequality and improve health outcomes. 

Hazel Waddington, Chair of the Riverside Foundation, said:- “We are delighted to expand our Well Fed programme into the Wirral and help even more individuals and families access healthier food at a reasonable cost. We know from speaking to our Wirral customers that many households find it difficult to regularly access affordable and genuinely healthy food. Well Fed is here to support local communities and improve access to affordable, healthy food while also championing essential cooking skills for life. We look forward to meeting as many residents as possible over the coming year and supporting them as the ongoing cost of living crisis continues to affect so many.”

Robbie Davison, Director of Can Cook said:- “We’re really proud to be bringing the Well Fed programme to the Wirral and building on the strong partnerships already in place across the area. At Can Cook, we believe everyone should be able to access good food by choice. This programme is about more than just providing meals, it’s about giving people the skills, confidence and access they need to cook healthy food affordably every day. By working closely with Riverside and local communities, we’re aiming to make a lasting difference to people’s health and wellbeing, while tackling the very real challenge of poor diet and food inequality.”

For further information about the Well Fed programme and mobile shop, please contact:- info@well-fed.co.uk or call Can Cook on:- 01244819543.