A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to raise money for a community kitchen designed to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis. It will allow Enfield residents to cook meals using ingredients, equipment and advice provided for free.
The community kitchen, located in Ponders End, will be run by Cooking Champions. Their founder, Palmers Green resident Clare Donovan, explains this latest step in the evolution of the community interest company:
"Cooking Champions have been working to address food poverty for over two years. Providing food packages was just the first step. Now it’s time to create long-term, sustainable support for our borough through an established space that will educate and empower on all food-related matters. We are excited to make this happen with your help!"
Clare points out that one in three Enfield children live in poverty, 16% of the borough's households have a gross income of less than £15,000, and Ponders End is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England.
Will you help us make it happen?
"We believe that food is a force for good. On a basic physiological level it is essential to human existence, but you don’t have to delve very deep to see how food can break down barriers, strengthen personal connections and enhance community cohesion.
"This is a time-critical situation. We have the drive, the knowledge and the skills to run this community kitchen. The opening of this space will be the difference between some people being able to eat or not. Will you help us make it happen?"
Clare Donovan
To make the community kitchen a reality Cooking Champions need to raise £15,000, to go towards:
- Equipment needed for the kitchen
- Energy bills
- Paying for staff
- Essential cooking supplies
- Venue maintenance
Depending on the amount pledged, donors will receive rewards, such as a free meal at the Community Champions Cafe at St Peter's Church in Grange Park, a place in a cooking lesson or even a private dining experience in their home for up to eight guests.
Clare says that the goals for the kitchen's first year of operation are:
- Providing ‘Open House’ kitchen sessions every week, enabling people to cook their own meals for free.
- Delivering a series of food education workshops that address key health issues such as adopting a low salt diet, living with diabetes and maintaining a healthy heart.
- Start our training academy for 18-25-year-olds to teach many different elements of the food industry, such as becoming a chef, front of house and event management.
A special feature of the community kitchen will be the availability, thanks to the Felix Project, of a wider variety of ingredients than those normally provided by food banks. These "key cultural ingredients" will allow people to maintain comforting food links with their heritage or culture, important because shortage of money and food insecurity don't just cause hunger, but also are also linked to deteriorating mental health. Kitchen users will be able to cook the food that they enjoy eating, take it home and share the experience with friends and family.
Cooking Champions: Another record broken, but help needed to stock the food store
Since April 2020, Cooking Champions have made and distributed over 50,000 meals for the communities around them, delivered food packages every week, and hosted frequent fundraising events, pop-ups, themed dinners/parties and workshops.
They've been continually breaking records for the number of meals cooked and distributed, or the number of food bags sent out. Last month was another record month: 425 food bags delivered across north London.
But growing demand puts increasing strain on their stocks of food - see the appeal below.
Our food store needs to be stocked!
We have a food store that desperately needs to be stocked. If you are able to. please can you donate any of the following in a new and unopened condition:
Tinned fish and tinned meat
Cooking oil
Cereal
Crisps
Rice and pasta
Long life milk
Biscuits
Stir-in pasta sauces
Unfortunately, due to our limited storage we cannot accept any fresh fruit or vegetables.
Drop off:
St. Peter's Church. Grange Park N21 1DN
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30am - 3pm