We’re very excited to report that our Streets to Kitchen campaign has kicked off with a taster session for participants who have been affected by homelessness in Bristol.

Those of you who have been following the campaign will know that over the past year we’ve been pulling out all the stops to raise £10,000 to help launch a new project.  The Streets to Kitchen initiative is designed to train people affected by homelessness in cookery and food service skills. With the help of our staff, customers and friends we’ve already got over £7,000 under our belt, which will be put to good use by Square Food Foundation to establish the course at St. Mungo’s Recovery College in Bristol.

We joined Square Food’s founder, Barny Haughton, at the college to meet some of St. Mungo’s clients who were there to get a feel for what the year-long course will be like when it launches this Autumn. Barny guided the participants through the process of making fresh bread rolls and a crowd-pleasing lentil and vegetable soup, teaching a range of skills new to many including safe preparation of the kitchen, vegetable prep and adjusting flavour. Then we were all treated to a communal meal in the college’s gorgeous garden.

Square Food Foundation have twenty years’ experience of teaching people from all walks of life to cook good food from scratch. This project will be the cookery school’s first course dedicated to those who have experienced the effects of homelessness and aims to build confidence in participants, whilst improving mental wellbeing and opening new doors for the future.

With classes based at the Recovery College, the project also aims to reinvigorate the site’s disused kitchen facilities. By encouraging participants to share their new knowledge with their peers, St. Mungo’s are hoping to establish an on-site café run by and for the college’s clients, as well as for staff and volunteers, and providing further opportunities for clients to develop potentially life-changing skills.

With £3,000 still to raise, we’re not resting on our laurels just yet! In a final push to raise the remaining funds, we’re hosting a Streets to Kitchen Yoga Breakfast on Sunday 24^th June. Produce assistant and yogi extraordinaire, Valentina Coccarelli, and store manager Fiona Mason are arranging the event to be held at Better Food’s Wapping Wharf store. Early risers will be treated to an hour-long yoga session in the store’s café before it opens for business, followed by a free organic breakfast, with all profits going directly to the project.

But if downward dog isn’t your style, you can still support the campaign: donations can be made in return for a reward at the Streets to Kitchen Fundsurfer page, or pay us a visit to see what fundraising initiatives are going on in-store, from book sales to special product promotions.

To book tickets for the Streets to Kitchen Yoga Breakfast, visit https://better-food-yoga-breakfast.eventbrite.co.uk

To find out more about the project or donate to the campaign, visit http://betterfood.co.uk/better-community/streets-to-kitchen-campaign/