It’s time for GFM to grow in more ways then one............

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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 last year, Good Food Matters has devoted much volunteer time in promoting our new much more ambitious project - A Community Food Learning Centre. This centre would ensure more positive long-term outcomes for young disadvantaged groups and their families in Croydon. 

After much research and partnership development and applying for funding, an ideal, 5,000 sq meter 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 nearly 23,000, a higher then the national average of social housing and unemployed people with little or no skills. Fieldway has almost double the national average of teenage pregnancies and its mortality rate from chronic diseases is 20% higher then the rest of the borough.

The proposed centre will teach people of all ages and abilities and backgrounds how to grow, cook and market organic food; benefiting their physical and mental health and contributing enormously to community cohesion. We will deliver understanding and benefits from access to affordable, healthy, organic food to the whole community. 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 2012 we aim to have a community shop and run a box scheme. Surplus will be given to those in need and we will encourage people from different backgrounds, abilities and ages to attend quarterly meetings to become more involved in the running of the centre, pooling knowledge to build a more inclusive, cohesive and stronger community.

Over the last year 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, Croydon Economic Development Company, Claudia Demuth, Consultant, Trainer, Keith Taylor MD Mansell Engineering, Karl Taylor of Geraghty Taylor Architects, Croydon Voluntary Action, Margi Lennartsson, Director of Policy, Garden Organic and Hanna Cilia, (Croydon Youth Development Trust), who has supported and worked in partnership with GFM on several projects over the last three years.   

We are very pleased to announce that we have our first committed grants of £375,000 toward the capital build.  We are in the process of applying to other funders to complete the capital build and for revenue support over 2 years until we are sustainable. We hope to start building the centre in spring 2011.

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