For 82-year-old Shirley Atkins, Wednesday lunch is one of the highlights of her week. The former Beefeater Gin factory worker heads to a community centre in Clapham Park where she finds a warm welcome, a free nutritious lunch and friends to talk to.
The community canteen, run by the charity Be Enriched, is proving a lifeline for people struggling this winter with the cost-of-living crisis and those who feel hungry, lonely or cannot afford to heat their homes. “At home we turn the heating on for a couple of hours then turn it off to save money,” said Shirley.
“I like coming here — I get food, a chat and it helps with the cost of living.”
Sharing her table was Bernadette, who added: “I am an old woman and don’t want to sit at home all day on my own.
"The cost of electricity is terrible — I have to sit under a blanket at home, but when I come here I meet my friends and don’t need to put the heating on.”
Anika, 84, takes two buses to get to the centre. “When I am on the bus, I am in a warm place,” she said. “I only put the heating on at home a couple of hours a day.”
Be Enriched runs three community canteens — in Lambeth, Wandsworth and Southwark — and last year they served more than 3,000 meals.
It is one of eight charities being funded out of the £250,000 pot of funds raised for our Winter Survival Appeal from the Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund, which is administered by the London Community Foundation. Our appeal is in partnership with Comic Relief.
The charity — which also runs a food bus and a milk float that deliver affordable produce to Londoners — is facing its own fuel and energy price rises. The £31,250 grant from our Christmas campaign will support the running of the three community canteens and food bus, as well as wider activities including holiday programmes for children.
A survey of people who used Be Enriched’s community canteens in the past year found that almost half have been worried they wouldn’t have enough to eat, and 43 per cent have skipped a meal. But the majority said that since coming to the canteen, they have tried new types of food and made new friends.
While the guests chatted, canteen lead Kayode Ijaola cooked their three-course meal assisted by volunteers. Like the TV show Ready Steady Cook, Kayode and his team are given ingredients in the morning and have to decide what to cook. The food is donated from organisations that include Getir, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, City Harvest and Local Greens.
Today there were pumpkins, celeriac, beetroot and carrots and the team made vegetable soup, homity pie served with salad, and apple crumble. Kayode said: “I work in advertising four days a week and spend one day a week here. This is very rewarding, especially seeing people try new, healthy hot meals.”
Kemi Akinola, CEO and founder of Be Enriched, said: “Because of the cost-of-living crisis and high energy bills, many people have turned off their fridges and do not use their ovens and instead rely on microwave meals, which is affecting their health. Previously people came because they needed community and the food was the added bonus. Now they need both.”
How you can help
£10 could provide a nourishing meal for a Londoner every day for a month
£20 could provide a duvet and pillow to a young person helping them sleep at night
£50 could contribute to a new school uniform for a child fleeing with a parent from an abusive relationship
£100 could provide 400 meals for families at a local community centre
£300 could pay for all that’s needed by a family expecting a baby, including new cot, mattress and pram
£1,750 could get a truck packed with enough food for 7,000 meals
In a nutshell
We have partnered with Comic Relief to launch our Winter Survival Appeal Christmas Campaign, with Comic Relief pledging £500,000 to kick off our fund. The money we raise will help fund charities in London and across the country helping people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
How you can help
To make a donation, visit comicrelief.com/wintersurvival
