Community Kitchen For People Seeking Sanctuary
We are delighted to announce that Highway Vineyard Church have been re-commissioned to deliver their community kitchen project for people seeking sanctuary in Newham. The project will run between January 2025 and March 2026, and provide 12 families/individuals a week access to two-hour cooking slots on two days a week.
Home cooked food is not only important for health; it is an integral part of cultural identity. Preparing and eating food can help associate with our past lives, create new and lasting memories, provide social connection and enable families to have control over the food they eat.
People seeking sanctuary who live in catered hotels whilst they await a decision about their asylum claim will often have little control over what and when they eat. Research shows that families and individuals staying in hotels want to enjoy healthy food but find themselves missing meals or eating high fat and carb meals. People receiving just £8.86 per person in their household compounds issues around accessing food. Improving food standards and embedding food as a life enhancing activity for people staying in least secure accommodation is a key focus in step 21 of the 50 Steps to a Healthier Newham strategy: help people seeking sanctuary to settle and lead independent, healthy and happy lives.
The recommissioning of the Highway Vineyard Church community kitchen project builds on the successful outputs and outcomes of the service that ran between November 2023 and September. The highlights include:
- The kitchen being open for 95 days.
- 600 cooking sessions offered, of which 508 were attended.
- 23 unique families attended the cooking sessions. These included families from Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Honduras, Columbia and China with family sizes ranging between 2 and 8 (Including siblings, grandparents, teens and young children).
As a result of community kitchen sessions, Highway Vineyard Church were able to provide holistic support to people seeking sanctuary, including:
- Free English+ classes.
- Access to our Grow Baby Service (free clothes for under 3’s and pregnant mothers).
- Free 1-1 immigration advice with our solicitor (a member of our congregation) who gives his time voluntarily.
- Several of the families have also started to attend the church regularly and engage in volunteering activities, access children’s play and stay groups and other church-based activities.