Cook for Good aims to fund a hospitality employment programme for our community members to develop new skills and improve their life chances
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Cook for Good aims to fund a hospitality employment programme for our community members to develop new skills and improve their life chances
Who we are
Cook for Good runs a vibrant community food hub on a housing estate in Kings Cross. We tackle food insecurity, health inequality, social isolation and barriers to work, through a programme which includes free cooking classes, community meals, training and work experience, and a surplus food pantry.
We are a social enterprise and our community programme is part funded from our cooking-based teambuilding /volunteering events, which see corporate groups coming in to cook meals to share with the local community. We also create paid work experience for our community who work on these events.
What we do and how we do it
We’ve turned a deserted laundry building into a food pantry and wellbeing café. Members pay £3.50 a week to pick up a basket of shopping worth around £35. They also get to enjoy soup, coffee and chat with their neighbours. And they can access support from our community manager, our resident psychologist and trusted advice organisations to tackle the root causes of food insecurity: debt, housing issues, health problems and access to good employment.
We’ve also transformed a disused café into a hi-tech community kitchen offering a wide range of cooking classes for local residents of all ages. We run a range of bespoke health and wellbeing cooking programmes in this kitchen , which target key groups within our community who need extra support. From our Grub Club bringing older men into our kitchen to cook, eat and build new friendships, reducing social isolation and improving their wellbeing. To our Cook for Health course helps people with diabetes understand how to tackle their condition through food, improve their health
Why it matters
We operate in Islington, one of London's most deprived areas. Before Cook for Good, there were no subsidised food options within walking distance for the local residents. Many felt disengaged from local services and faced social isolation. Unemployment and economic inactivity due to ill health were prevalent, and regularly, half of our members struggled to afford essential food
The impact we have
In just our fourth year of operating, we have continued to increase both the numbers of people we support and the impact on their lives. We have
And critically 9 out of 10 beneficiaries tell us they feel less isolated, eat healthier, worry less about the cost of their weekly shop, and enjoy a greater sense of community.
“I was prescribed anti-depressants, but when I started coming to the Pantry everything changed.”
“This place has stopped me and my daughter from going without meals.”
“This is the first time that I have really felt like part of this community – I feel like I have friends here.”
Our idea
We are now seeking to raise money to launch a new ‘Cook for Good : pathways into hospitality’ employability programme. This will provide an integrated volunteer, training and employment pathway to help 80 residents improve their skills, confidence and ultimately raise their living standards by tackling one of the key underlying causes of food insecurity - worklessness.
Cook for Good works with social housing residents in Islington, where unemployment and economic inactivity are significantly higher than borough averages. Only 25% of our members are in work, and fewer than half of those earn the London Living Wage. Many residents face long-term barriers including poor health, caring responsibilities, low confidence and limited recent work experience. Others are caught in a benefit trap, fearing that taking on low paid or part-time work could reduce income they rely on to meet basic needs.
Our solution
Our ‘Cook for Good : pathways into hospitality’ employability programme will, over the next 12 months, support 80 residents through a structured volunteering programme to build their confidence, through practical employability training through our Community Jobs Fair days, and through hospitality specific training in the form of a new Barista programme. We will then support some of them into paid local flexible work placements both in our own community kitchen and through a newly established network of leading hospitality partners. This approach will help them to improve their skills, find local employment and ultimately raise their living standards, so they are no longer food insecure.
The programme addresses persistent local barriers: low confidence, low employment, challenges making work pay, and access to quality flexible roles often not found through traditional hospitality training routes. It offers four integrated pathways, meeting residents at different stages of readiness, providing tailored, practical support reflecting their circumstances and aspirations, whilst also supporting hospitality partners to adapt their job design and recruitment approaches.
1. Volunteering - a supported first step 30 residents furthest from the labour market will volunteer within our community pantry, building routine, confidence and social connection. 20 will progress onto a structured six‑month pathway including coaching, training and access to work experience or paid roles.
2. Community Jobs Days - access to flexible, local work Quarterly outreach events will engage a minimum of 40 residents, connecting them to part‑time, flexible roles within our casual kitchen team. Up to 15 residents per year will progress into paid roles, offering vital income‑boosting employment where full‑time work is not viable.
3. Barista training - A programme supporting 10 local young people ready to move towards permanent employment. This 12 week course will be run in partnership with a local hospitality firm and offer a combination of practical training, an introduction to a range of roles available within hospitality and paid work experience placements.
4. Paid hospitality industry work experience placements. Once members have been through one of these routes we will then broker connections for further progression through paid work experience placements with a network of workplace catering hospitality partners. We have already developed a relationship with four major firms : Houston & Hawkes, Genuine Dining, Restaurant Associates and Baxter Storey, as all provide volunteer chefs on our cooking programmes. We have approached them to scope offering placements for members of our community who have been through one of our volunteer or training pathways and are keen to develop their careers in hospitality. All partners are keen to support this programme if we can secure the funds we need to develop our pathway offer. They will then offer placements. We will cover expenses initially and they will then commit to offer guaranteed interviews and further paid work to candidates who complete their placements. We expect 10 residents to access paid work experience in the first year.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made