Connect and Nourish: what comes next
Following the news last month that we had successfully raised £16,306 to enable our Connect and Nourish project to proceed, Naomi, our Head of Connect and Nourish, has written this blog about the next steps and how you can continue to be involved:
Thank you all so much for your generous support towards this project.
We have lots of ideas and plans to deliver, but we want this project to be community led, from start to finish. We'll be convening a group to decide exactly how we want to allocate these funds, and ensure that every pound is spent in a transparent and effective way. Financial support is just one component of what enables community projects to happen – so much of what will make this project a success is in the relationships that form and sustain it.
That being said: If you have skills, time, enthusiasm or ideas – please do get in touch with me (naomirichards@gl11.org.uk) – the more collaborative this can be, the better!
If you’d just like to hear what’s happening, I will be sharing occasional updates via the Spacehive platform, and GL11 social media.
In the meantime, we've already got going (and growing) in our garden! We started with a community action day to clear some ground and give our outside space a good spring cleaning. We've now got a regular group who meet weekly, under the supervision of an experienced grower and are transforming our outside space into something beautiful and productive.
We’ve also run our first pop-up kitchen, which both contributed to this fundraiser, and served as a pilot for future similar events. The model seems to work well: enabling someone to share their passion and skills, giving a space to try new things, build confidence and be connected to further employment opportunities. And to celebrate diversity in our local community. There are a few tickets left for Chandra’s Sri Lankan pop up later this month HERE…
We’ve hosted two Community Action Groups to bring together volunteers and users of our community pantry to explore ideas for ensuring its viability and sustainability long term. There have been some great ideas generated there, including building greater community ownership of the pantry, and incorporating recipe ‘kits’ or ideas into the offer.
And there’s so much more to come…
Once again, thank you – beyond the financial support, it’s brilliant to see that there is excitement and enthusiasm for projects that are using food as a vehicle for connection, and transformation.