While we admire and support the Christmas campaigns that we see pop up in December, we also know that help is urgently needed all year round, each and every year. As some people pack away after the festive break, we are still here.
Our support is not limited to a food package, but it leaps beyond - we form connections, we listen and respond to everyone who steps through our doors. We open up a warm, safe, environment which aims to feel like a home away from home.
For us to continue to thrive and grow, and keep supporting as many people as possible, we are asking you to become a Friend of Cooking Champions. Even a donation of just £5-10 per month can make a HUGE impact on the lives of those who come through our doors.
Pop to our People's Fundraising page to donate, and we promise to keep you updated with how your support is making a difference. Thank you, we appreciate you! Team Cooking Champions
News, comment and features
Articles are shown in publication date order - most recent first.
A new 'social hub' for Enfield residents aged 50 and above is launching soon and the organisers are inviting people to join. The project is being run by the Enfield Asian Welfare Association (EAWA), but people from all communities will be welcome.
On Sunday 30th August join four fabulous Enfield Poets on Enfield Town Library Green when they send off the Peace Poem on a voyage to Pymmes Park. A free family event.
A new Manga mural by artist and theatrical designer Sonoko Obuchi, featuring representations of students from Platinum Dance, has been officially unveiled at the Millfield Arts Centre in Silver Street Edmonton. The mural celebrates the local enthusiasm and passion for the arts that Platinum is an important part of, and also marks the launch of a new venture, the Platinum Performing Arts Academy, which opens next month.
With children soon due to return to their classrooms, the issue of how pupils will travel to and from school is becoming urgent. There are serious questions about how many will be able resume using public transport. Across the country the government is telling local authorities that they want at least half of pupils with journeys of less than two miles who have previously used buses to switch to active travel - walking or cycling. In London it's still unclear under what circumstances free public transport will be available to schoolchildren. This article points readers in the direction of some recently published information relevant to school transport in the age of Covid-19.
What questions should council scrutiny panels and members of the public ask when considering climate action plans drawn up by local authorities? A new guide, published today by the Local Government Association (LGA) sets out ten such questions which will help all councils and policymakers embed the necessary environmental, social and cultural changes that communities need to build resilience in the face of climate change.
Last week Winchmore Hill Safer Neighbourhoods Team warned that on Wednesday 19th August on Firs Lane N21 people claiming to be from Thames Water had been going to addresses saying they want to inspect the manholes on in their gardens.
A public notice published in this week's Enfield Independent gives notice that five experimental traffic orders relating to the Fox Lane Quieter Neighbourhood Area will come into effect on 7th September.
Hal Haines draws a parallel between last week's protests against Enfield's first low-traffic neighbourhood and the situation in the Netherlands 50 years ago, when Amsterdam's streets too were dominated by cars. The Stop the Child Killings campaign that began in 1971 has shaped road design in the Netherlands ever since, making it unthinkable not to design out the possibility of taking a short cut through residential areas. The UK solved the child deaths problem by turning streets into no-go areas for children, but at a cost in terms of health, both physical and mental.
Fresh off the presses from the Friends of Alexandra Park and filled with photos and maps from the archives is a new book, A History of Alexandra Park by Laura Mazur.
A recently published report into telephone befriending in Enfield during lockdown provides a snapshot of the issues affecting residents in the 'vulnerable' and/or 'shielding' categories and shows the value of telephone befriending and of other services that were provided, such as delivery of food and medicines. Most call recipients were pleased to receive the calls and a core continued to receive these throughout the period, not missing a call. The report recommends that the council should be ready to reactivate the service in case there is a second wave or a local lockdown.