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Click on each image below to view a full pdf of the corresponding plans Updated plans will be posted here very soon...
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Since our Teaching Kitchen was built in September 2006, Good Food Matters has taught many disadvantaged children, young people and accompanying adults, parents and teachers how to cook healthy food. During this development period, we have been constantly aware that although students gain more confidence and understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet, most are on low to very low incomes and do not have access to affordable healthy food. Many of our students are NEET (not in education, employment or training) and our younger students are at risk of becoming NEET and isolated from their community. Because of this, over the 2½ years, Good Food Matters has devoted much volunteer time in promoting and fundraising for this, a much more ambitious project, which is to build a Community Food Learning Centre in Croydon. This centre would ensure more positive long-term outcomes for young disadvantaged groups and their families in Croydon.
The proposed Centre will teach people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds how to grow, cook and market organic food; benefiting their physical and mental health and contributing enormously to community cohesion. Our Access Design Appraisal will ensure that all services will be accessible to wheelchair users and people with sight and hearing disabilities. We will deliver understanding and benefits from access to affordable, healthy, organic food to the whole community who at present has very limited access. Through the Community Volunteering Involvement Programme; the Youth Initiative Scheme and other projects set up to support the involvement of the entire community, we will offer accredited and basic cookery and horticulture courses to educate and train local people in sustainable food production; helping people to think global and act local such as recycling waste/ beekeeping and promoting the value of affordable, local food to schools, hospitals, voluntary organizations and local businesses. As produce grows in 2013 we aim to have a community shop and run a box scheme. All volunteers will be offered free training and free produce when available. Surplus will be given to those in need. We will encourage people from the community to become more involved in the running of the centre, pooling knowledge to build a more inclusive, cohesive and stronger community that will bring in sustained income through production, education and training well into the foreseeable future
After much research and partnership development and applying for funding, an ideal, 1½ acre green space has been found in New Addington on the borders of Fieldway on which to build the project (subject to planning permission). These wards are two of the most deprived in Croydon. They have a combined population of 22,000, with high levels of poverty, particularly child poverty, high level of unemployed people with little or no skills and 17% NEET young people (not in education, employment or training). Fieldway has double the national average of teenage pregnancies and its mortality rate from chronic diseases is 20% higher then the rest of the borough.
Over the last 3 years GFM is indebted to the invaluable support given to us to
forward the project by members and heads of departments in Croydon Council, in
particular Diana Battaglia (Community Initiative Officer Sustainability Team),
Tom Sweeney (Senior Urban Design Officer) Simon Townend (Head of Integrated
Youth Support) and Rachel Nicholson (Healthy Croydon Partnership), Ken Sherwood
OBE, District Centre Manager for New Addington and Fieldway, Claudia Demuth,
Consultant, Trainer, Karl Taylor of Geraghty Taylor Architects, Carole Short of
Croydon Voluntary Action, Margi Lennartsson, Director of Policy, Garden Organic,
Hanna Cilia, (Croydon Youth Development Trust), who has supported and worked in
partnership with GFM on several projects over the years.
If you wish to know more please contact me, Evelyn Findlater, Project
Manager
evelyn@goodfoodmatters.co.uk
Tel: 0208 240 1121 Mob: 07951 523 109
