Feeding the community

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:27:32 Z

Having the opportunity to go out for a three-course meal is a bit of a luxury. But a community project in Twerton is giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy a restaurant-standard meal every Thursday night – completely free of charge.

The Thursday Night Dinner started in December last year, and is run by the Bath Community Kitchen, and has been supported by a £500 Curo Communities Grant. Rob Lewis, one of the co-founders and Directors of the Bath Community Kitchen, says, “We wanted to create an opportunity for people to be able to go out together and eat together, and enjoy a delicious and nutritious meal – but also something that isn’t exclusive and isn’t expensive.
“We use surplus food that otherwise would have been thrown away by shops and supermarkets, so not only are we helping to tackle food poverty, but also food waste.”

The Thursday night dinner takes place each week at the Lighthouse Centre at 6.30pm. There’s no need to book, and everyone is welcome.

“We’re finding that there are certain barriers that are stopping people from coming along,” says Rob. “They don’t trust us and think there must be a religious element or something like that, or they think there is some stigma to coming to a free event. But there’s really no need to be suspicious, or to feel that way. This really is just a way of helping to bring a community together, and to prevent food waste.

“We usually have around 20 or 30 guests, and it’s a real mix of people, from families, to older members of the community, which I think is really important.
“In a world where people have become very polarised it’s good to sit and talk to people that you might not otherwise come into contact with, whether that’s because they come from a different background to you, or have different opinions on politics or religion, or for any other reason. These meals are a really good forum for that to take place.”

You can find out more about the Bath Community Kitchen at bathcommunitykitchen.org.uk

Community pantry customers get cooking equipment

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 11:04:29 Z

Oasis Pantry in Southdown, Bath received energy saving cooking packs to help families on low incomes, including 50 slow cookers, from housing association Curo and Travis Perkins Managed Services.

Oasis Pantries are part of a growing network of community pantries in Bath, supplying low cost, high quality food each week to local people.

Oasis Pantries reached out to Curo to help fund practical support measures, like energy efficient cooking for low-income families.

More than £2,000 was spent to give at least 50 families packages including low energy light bulbs, a slow cooker, recipe books and draught excluders. Over £100 worth of food was also donated.

Claire Henwood, from Oasis Pantries said:

"Oasis Pantry (Roundhill) are delighted with this support from Curo and Travis Perkins.

“We know from surveying our members that fuel costs are a significant concern, and we're so pleased to be able to offer these slow cookers and recipe books as a way to cook healthy meals for a fraction of the energy costs of a regular oven, alongside the other items to reduce overall fuel consumption."

The donation was provided through a joint Curo and Travis Perkins funding pot which is available for local community projects and ideas.

Pearl Slee, Asset and Energy Performance Manager at Curo said:

“We’re thrilled at Curo to be able to support this project. We hope this will make a difference to food pantry customers’ fuel bills and help tackle fuel poverty in the area.”

Martyn Piper, Account Manager at Travis Perkins Managed Services said:

"We are very pleased to be able to help: with food and fuel poverty on the rise, it's great to be able to support those in need."

If you live or work within approximately a 15-minute walk of an Oasis Pantry, and your household income is less than £18,000 a year, you’re eligible to become a pantry member.

Curo News

Feeding the community

Community pantry customers get cooking equipment