Cambridge Sustainable Food’s slow cooker appeal hits £24,000
An appeal to help community food services and projects buy ingredients and slow cookers for Cambridge residents hit hard by the cost of living crisis has raised £24,000.
As the Cambridge Independent reported, Cambridge Sustainable Food CIC launched the fundraiser a little over a month ago with support from Cambridge City Council on behalf of members of the Food Poverty Alliance.
The donations made will be used to buy and redistribute ingredients across the city over winter via the city’s central community food centre, based out of Buchan Street Neighbourhood Centre, and split between the 13 organisations involved. The city council has match-funded £10,000 and Cambridge BID donated £4,000 to the appeal.
Ian Sandison, CEO Cambridge BID, said: “We are really happy to support this fund and the organisations that do such fantastic work across our city. We are very aware of how the increased cost of living is starting to hit people living in Cambridge.
“Cambridge BID strives to make our city a vibrant place to live, work and visit and on behalf of businesses in the city we are contributing to the winter fund which will support those who are most vulnerable.”
Funds will be used to support existing community food schemes to buy ingredients and provide slow cookers directly to vulnerable households via Red Hen Club Cook and Abbey Cooks.
Jen Rutter, a project worker at the Red Hen Project, which also did a live cookery demonstration with some of its Red Hen families – including one for a slow cooker stew recipe – said: “We’ve always had a really good partnership with
Cambridge Sustainable Food, so they let us know that this project was happening and we were delighted to be part of it, because it really helps our families in CB4 at a time when the cost of food and living is such a crisis for everybody.
“Slow cookers are slightly cheaper than using gas, and they free your time up so you can get on and do other things.”
Community food services across Cambridge are seeing more people seeking help with food, including many who never expected to find themselves in this position. Cllr Alex Collis, Cambridge City Council deputy leader (statutory) and executive councillor for open spaces, food justice and community development, said: “People coming each week to Cambridge’s food hubs are worried.
“They’re worried about how they are going to manage in the coming months, as energy and food bills continue to rise, and the cost of living crisis gathers pace.”
The groups involved in the appeal that will benefit from the funds are Abbey People (Abbey Food Hub), The Church of the Good Shepherd (COGS Food Hub), St Andrew’s Church Cherry Hinton (Cherry Hinton Food Hub), St Martin’s PCC (Coleridge Food Hub), Bangladesh Welfare and Culture Association (Shah Jalal Food Hub), Trumpington Residents’ Association (Trumpington Food Hub), It Takes A City, C3 Church, Food Cycle Cambridge, The Red Hen Project, Cambridge Community Kitchen, Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum, Karim Foundation and Cambridge Sustainable Food CIC.
[Read more: Cambridge Sustainable Food and Anglia Ruskin University declare war on waste]
For more information on Cambridge Sustainable Food CIC, visit cambridgesustainablefood.org.
