A new weekly community health programme is launching in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, on 22 January 2026 to provide residents with free exercise classes and healthy cooking lessons. The project, called Fit and Fed, will run every week and is designed to help families on low incomes and older people stay active and eat well. Organisers say the sessions are a direct response to rising food insecurity, physical inactivity and social isolation in the local area.
The initiative is being delivered by a local non-profit consortium, with partners including CHEXS, in partnership with the Borough of Broxbourne Council. While similar programmes usually run only during school holidays, this expanded version will take place year-round at community spaces such as the CHEXS community hub, local leisure centres (for example, near the Laura Trott Leisure Centre) and other community centres. The project aims to give residents the skills they need to make a tight budget go further while improving their physical fitness.
According to StreetGames, the national organisation that created the Fit & Fed model, the campaign’s goal is to tackle food poverty, inactivity and social isolation. The expansion in Cheshunt follows the council’s Corporate Plan 2025–2029, which prioritises Healthy Communities. By including residents aged 65+, the scheme also aims to reach older people who may feel lonely or cut off from their neighbours.
Places on the programme are free for those on qualifying benefits and subsidised for other residents. Each session will include a guided workout followed by a practical workshop where participants can prepare a healthy meal to eat together or take home to their families. The move to a weekly schedule reflects a shift toward long-term, preventative community support across Wormley and Turnford and the wider borough.
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