COMMUNITY KITCHENS Local food banks providing nutritious meals

A hearty meal

Foodbanks are a lifeline for many during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, fronted by inspirational individuals who make time to lend a helping hand.

Community volunteers from the Sufra organic garden

There are some incredible foodbanks in Brent. Sufra, Brent Foodbank and London’s Community Kitchen play a lifesaving role in the community thanks to the selfless staff and volunteers at the helm.

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Brent’s Cabinet Member for Jobs, Economy, and Citizen Experience, said: “Foodbanks don’t just provide emergency food to those in need, they also help users improve their wellbeing, get out of debt and learn new skills.

“I’m proud that Brent Council has given £125k to help foodbanks meet increased demand during the current crisis and that we’re the first London council to hand over our kitchen facilities for free to a foodbank.”

London’s Community Kitchen used the space to make 50,000 nutritious meals for children in Brent and Harrow throughout the sixweek summer holidays.

Taz Khan, Founder of London’s Community Kitchen, said: “Due to the unprecedented rise in living costs, families are struggling to put healthy meals on the table, yet at the same time we are seeing a rise in spare food going to waste.

“We are redirecting this food back into the communities, providing fresh food to the people who need it most.”

Sufra NW London is all about fresh food too. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, the St Raphael’s Estate Edible Garden has a fruit tree orchard and plenty of raised beds for growing food. The garden yields a wide range of fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs that is distributed at the foodbank and used to prepare meals to ensure all can benefit from fresh and organic produce.

Sufra provide lots of other support for residents as well, including school uniform drives, with the most recent distributing 177 preloved uniforms to families in need.

Rajesh Makwana, Director of Sufra NW London, said: “Our Community Kitchens and Advice Services support people’s wellbeing and financial security – with organic produce from our Community Garden and access to training, employability and other forms of help available.

Like our Food Bank, our Annual Uniform Drive also saves money for families struggling to put food on the table. We are grateful to our supporters, but we will all need to do much more to help families in the months ahead.”

Visit a Brent Community Hub for urgent support, advice, and food vouchers: www.brenthubs.com

I’m proud that Brent Council has given £125k to help foodbanks meet increased demand during the current crisis ‘‘ ‘‘