Nourish Hub
Reducing food waste while bringing people together
Coming together to ‘break bread’ and share a meal is an important part of many cultures. However, when friends and family live far away, communal meals can feel like a distant memory, especially when money is tight.
Nourish Hub is helping to change that, and reducing food waste in the process. Its community lunch runs five days a week. People are invited to sit down together and enjoy a freshly cooked, nutritious three-course lunch for a suggested donation of just £3 per person. In the last financial year, the charity served 33,921 meals, with the help of around 200 volunteers. Every lunch is made from ingredients that would otherwise be wasted, from wonky carrots to surplus bread.
Hub Manager Andreea Rizea says, “It’s not just about food, it’s about community building. This is a safe, inclusive and welcoming space, where people can make connections with other members of the community. There are good vibes, good people and a spirit of togetherness.”
Some of the people who come to the community lunch are otherwise quite isolated. One regular attendee shares, “Nourish Hub gets me up and gets me out of the flat. I’m able to socialise with a lot of people.”
Tackling waste
Nourish Hub’s parent charity, UKHarvest, collects surplus food from distributors, farmers, supermarkets and hotels. The community hub also receives food from other partners, such as City Harvest and Chiswick House & Gardens, and it grows leafy greens and herbs in its own indoor growing towers.
When you consider that almost a third of greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food production and that almost 2 million tonnes of food is wasted in London every year, it’s clear that charities like Nourish Hub benefit the environment as well as people.
The Hub often receives lots of one particular type of food, whether that’s butternut squash or cabbage, so the team needs to come up with creative ways of using it. Andreea says, “Every morning is like Ready, Steady, Cook in our kitchen! There’s a lot of creativity and we’ve got a very diverse team of volunteers who all share their own recipes, so our menu changes daily.”
The average home wastes around £470 of food every year. There are many reasons for this, including confusion around food labels and a lack of meal planning. Andreea says, “This is an issue that we take very strongly, so alongside our community lunch, we have a very comprehensive education programme – NOURISHed. It’s delivered by our in-house nutritionist Helen and our education & events chef Tom. We teach everything from simple cutting skills to more complex recipes, and alongside that, we teach people about nutrition, budgeting and how to reduce food waste, for instance by freezing bread and milk if they’ve bought too much and making stock with vegetable peel. Last year, we delivered 265 education sessions and events through NOURISHed”
Clothing waste is another major environmental issue, so Nourish Hub has partnered with Regarm – a community clothing initiative – to redistribute pre-loved clothing for free. Each week, people can choose items of clothing that have been collected from Notting Hill Market and other areas.
The charity also runs clubs and workshops to bring people together and reduce waste. These include a sewing and clothes repair course run by La Modista, and a shared reading group.
Community pantry
This year, Nourish Hub has launched a new service – a community pantry where people make a £5 donation to fill a bag with surplus produce of their choice. Andreea says, “As well as addressing food insecurity, it’s about long-term wellbeing and dignity. There’s no eligibility criteria and we try to offer wraparound support through organisations like Citizens Advice, Shelter and Turning Point.”
Volunteer
Nourish Hub relies on a large team of volunteers, many of whom have received support from the charity themselves. Some are there to share their skills, others to gain new skills and work experience. All want to share their love of good food and give something back to their community. As one volunteer, Niall, says, “Before I came here, I was struggling with mental health problems and unemployment. This seemed like a safe environment for me to develop social skills and do what I love doing, which is cooking.”
Join in
Nourish Hub is open to everyone, whether you want to attend a free cookery class, join a book club, or take part in a community lunch. The charity is also keen to hear from people who are interested in volunteering to cook or serve meals. Find out more at www.nourishhub.org.uk or watch the video below:
Why did you decide to move to Sycamore House?
