“This place makes me feel positive about my future”

“This is the highlight of my week,” said 15-year-old Roman, from Ely, whilst attending Co-op and Barnardo’s ‘Rise Up’ service. 

Each week, young people from the local area are invited to attend free cooking classes, known as ‘Tasty Tuesdays’, at Cardiff Youth Service North Ely Youth Centre. Participants learn to cook nutritious and affordable meals, and can take home surplus food for their families from the on-site community fridge. 

“It’s really useful for my family,” said Roman. “I like how it brings people together, and cooking is really good for mental health because you feel proud of what you’ve made. There’s nothing else like this around here.” 
Seventeen-year-old Lauren, who also attends the ‘Rise Up’ service, said: “Ely isn’t always a great place to live. My brother and I have been told that we won’t succeed in life because we come from Ely – that we’re bad people, because we’re from here.” 

Co-op and Barnardo’s have been working in the area since 2024, after establishing ‘Rise Up’ in consultation with local young people – including 18-year-old Saeed. 

“When we started talking to young people in Ely, worries about having enough food to eat came up straight away,” said Saeed. “They didn’t know how to make healthy food, because unhealthy food is usually cheaper and easier to get. That’s why we set up Tasty Tuesdays, so there would be a place that people could go for free and know that they’ll get something to eat.” 

Co-op and Barnardo’s research this year found that 1 in 4 Welsh young people have struggled to access or pay for food in the last six months – higher than the UK-wide average of 1 in 5. The problem isn’t just limited to Ely.  

Nineteen-year-old university student Miles, from Newport, also supports Co-op and Barnardo’s to reach young people across Wales. They said: “A lot of people in high school struggled with food. If you haven’t got enough to eat, that has a massive impact, because you can’t learn properly when you’re hungry. If you’re not eating right, you can’t focus on your education.” 

Alongside Ely, Co-op and Barnardo’s have established services in Swansea and Rhyl, supporting young people with the issues that matter to them. In Rhyl, weekly ‘Magic Minds’ sessions deliver confidence-building sessions to support young people’s mental wellbeing.  

“A lot of young people have issues with mental health, so people think it’s a trend or something,” said Miles. “But is it really surprising when things just keep getting harder and more expensive?” 

The services provided by Co-op and Barnardo’s make a profound difference to young people’s mental wellbeing – both now and in the future. 

“These services mean that young people know they have somewhere to go – somewhere safe and welcoming that can help them, so that they don’t have to feel stuck,” said Saeed. “They can do something different, learn new things, change their own lives. They might be going down a bad path and being influenced by bad people, but then if they come here and meet people who really care about them, they know there’s an alternative.”  

Earlier this year Co-op and Barnardo’s announced an extension to their partnership, which aims to support 1 million young people across the UK. 

Lynn Perry, Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, said: “Since our partnership with Co-op began, we've seen young people's lives genuinely change for the better thanks to our services. It’s clear that too many young people are still feeling anxious, unsupported, and ultimately left behind – but thanks to the extension of our partnership with Co-op, we can continue working directly with young people to build more positive futures.”  

Dave Luckin, Head of Community Partnerships, Funding & Impact at Co-op, said: “At Co-op, we believe that young people’s voices must be at the heart of shaping the future. Thanks to the incredible commitment of our members, colleagues and customers, we’ve already raised over £5 million so far to help 600,000 young people. By extending our partnership with Barnardo’s, we’re now aiming to raise £7 million to support positive futures for 1 million young people across the UK.” 

In Ely, feeling positive about the future remains a challenge. For 17-year-old Alex, “it depends on the day”, whilst Roman is feeling tentatively optimistic. 

“I didn't use to feel positive about my future because I don’t have very good grades, so I didn’t think I’d get a good job,” said Roman. “But since coming here I’ve started thinking I could be a Youth Worker when I’m older. I’ve already started volunteering. So yeah – this place makes me feel positive about my future.”  

Tasty Tuesdays runs from 3.30-4.30pm at North Ely Youth Centre, and is free for all aged 10-18. For more information on the Co-op and Barnardo’s partnership services across Wales and the rest of the UK, please visit www.coop.co.uk/SupportYoungPeople.  

^{*The research was conducted by Opinion Matters, among a sample of 2001. The data was collected between 10.03.2025 – 17.03.2025. Opinion Matters abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Opinion Matters is also a member of the British Polling Council.}