Always on
This project successfully funded on 2nd January 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Cooking and eating together
Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom
First target reached!
We will use any additional money to purchase new equipment for the kitchen, which wi...
Aim
Helping people cook, share and enjoy healthy low-carbon meals together while tackling food waste and loneliness.
What began as a small community lunch in 2022 has grown into something remarkable. Today, The VC Gallery’s kitchen in Pembroke Dock feeds more than 60 people at a sitting, bringing together veterans, volunteers, and local residents around the table for good food and good company.
Every meal we serve is rooted in sustainability. We collect surplus ingredients daily from Lidl, Co-op and other local partners, turning what might have gone to waste into hearty, home-cooked dishes. Nothing is wasted — not the food, not the warmth, and not the friendship.
On Creative Cookery Mondays, over 30 people now join us to learn how to budget, batch cook, and create healthy meals using local and surplus produce, including from our allotment and garden. These sessions help people develop confidence in the kitchen and take practical climate-friendly habits home with them — cooking from scratch, wasting less, and eating well on a budget.
Our pay-what-you-can-afford lunches on Tuesdays are now a lifeline for many — especially those living alone or on tight incomes. Volunteers, many of them Armed Forces veterans, collect ingredients, prepare meals, serve guests, and offer lifts home afterwards. It’s community at its very best: people looking after one another.
Now we need support to keep these initiatives running, to extend them through the winter months, and to open our doors on Christmas Day, ensuring no one in our community eats or sits alone.
Your donation will help us:
- Buy fresh, nutritious ingredients to keep meals healthy and varied
- Continue collecting and redistributing surplus food locally
- Run Creative Cookery Mondays, teaching sustainable cookery and budgeting skills
- Serve two-course community lunches each week for 60+ people
- Provide a warm welcome, conversation and festive meal on Christmas Day
Together, we’re showing that climate action can be delicious, practical and full of heart.
Every £10 helps feed five people, £50 supports a week of community meals, and £100 keeps the kitchen stocked and open to all.
At The VC Gallery, we believe change starts with small acts of kindness — a bowl of soup, a shared table, and a chance to learn something new. Thank you for helping us keep that warmth alive this winter. 💚
BA Better World Community Fund - Planet has provided £1,250 of match funding
Avios Donations has provided £8 of match funding
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made