BWCE Fund focus: Bath Community Kitchen
Bath Community Kitchen reduces carbon as well as tackling food poverty with the help of the BWCE Fund.
When you go into the Lighthouse Centre, Twerton on a Thursday night, a wonderful smell assaults your senses and the tables are laid ready for whoever needs a hot meal. Bath Community Kitchen makes an amazing 3 course meal for approximately 40 people using a grant received from the BWCE Fund together with surplus vegetables and food donated by Eades, Larkhall Farm Shop and Landrace Bakery.
The grant covers the ongoing costs which includes the hire of the Lighthouse venue in Twerton, a paid member of staff, and the cost of any extra supermarket food required to supplement the donated food.
Rob Lewis, Founder of the Bath Community Kitchen, collects around 40-50 kilos of surplus food and supplements this with a weekly shop making the meals work out at roughly £1 per head.
This year they are hoping to save 1,920kg of carbon by providing these meals. 2.4kg of carbon will be saved per meal from the food surplus being diverted from landfill. Additionally, the meals will help prevent the need for people to use energy to cook meals at home making further carbon savings.
“Depending on what is being donated we create vegetarian soups, curries, pies and puddings. Thursday night is both about feeding people delicious healthy vegetarian food, and also about building a community through providing a space that is warm, friendly, safe and where people can come, sit, eat and meet other people in their communities. If there is any leftover portions (but this is rare!) people can take them away in a meal box.”
“I was new to Bath and didn’t know anyone in the community and was looking to do some kind of volunteering. Day-to-day I’m stuck on a laptop and working from home and it’s so nice to come to a community event where I’m on my feet and thinking creatively - it’s a perfect antidote to my working week. It’s great to see that within the space of two hours we go from boxes of leftover food to lots of smiling faces and a delicious meal for 40 people.”
For more information about Bath Community Kitchen and how to get involved, you can take a look on their website.