A new communal cookery club at Launchpad 135, our work and life skills centre, is proving a big hit with people, some of whom are currently sofa surfing, staying in temporary accommodation or even living in tents within the greater Reading area.
With little or no access to a kitchen they can come to our centre in Cardiff Road, use store cupboard ingredients and fresh fruit and vegetables from our *allotments, to create their own dishes.
Working together, with support from Sammie, our new life skills tutor, and Ayesha, our cookery club tutor who piloted the scheme, they decide what dishes to make with what they have been given – then enjoy a tasty lunch together.
Think Ready, Steady Cook, but without the time pressure!
Sammie said: “The idea is to cook something with what they’ve been given, which could be similar to what they might receive in a food parcel.
“My role here is not to tell people what to cook, but to support and help them engage with others.”
Ayesha said: “Cooking club has been a great success, we began six weeks ago with one or two participants, now there are around eight. We end up eating together which gives us a great time for socialising too.
“This session is participant-led in the sense that as a group they decide what to eat the following week.
“There is a lot of interest in making new food, looking for recipes and planning group events around food. The participants talk about how much they like eating together, and I’ve noticed some of the same people returning each week, keen to get involved again.”
People who come to the cookery club often also use our other facilities.
Everyone is being supported by various agencies with a view to moving into more permanent accommodation and we are pleased to offer a safe place to cook, eat, socialise and people can take care of personal hygiene with our shower and laundry.
We have also started cooking with clients at Nova – the specialist service we manage which provides a safe home for women who have been made homeless for a variety of reasons, including having experienced violence, abuse and sexual harassment.
In the future, we hope they too will use the kitchen and facilities at 135.
*We welcome corporate groups to volunteer at our allotments in Woodley between March and October. If you are interested in fulfilling your CSR in this way, please get in touch with Kirsti.Wilson@launchpadreading.org.uk our Head of Fundraising and Marketing.