Help us make 200,000 meals in 100 days

Can you help us make over 200,000 meals in just 100 days?

 

The delicious food will be cooked and prepared by Community Response Kitchen, an entirely unpaid volunteer team, in Wembley and reach thousands of NHS, key workers and vulnerable groups across Brent, Ealing, Hertforshire and east London. We are now also helping evicted international students working alongside Educating Beyond Borders with food, essentials and accommodation. These students have no families here to fall back on and are being evicted so we supply them with hot meals, snacks for their journeys, essentials for when they move to new accommodation and we also transport them to the airport at all hours.


Just six weeks ago, Daksha Varsani and her husband Paresh Jethwa decided to cook 50 meals a week for NHS key workers. The emotional reaction and gratitude of the staff convinced Daksha and Paresh to go MUCH further.


The response of the local community has been incredible and their entirely volunteer team has grown to over 50 people, distributing over 2,000 daily meals. They have now prepared and distributed over 87,000 gifts.

 
But they can’t continue without your help.

 

FUNDRAISING

The food supply has proved so popular that Daksha and her team now need to fundraise to secure a reliable supply of quality food at bargain wholesale prices to go alongside donated produce. They would also like to diversify some of the food offering. They also need to meet running costs of their operation (see below).

 

The goal of their new fundraising campaign is to raise £100,000 – this is just 50p towards the cost of what would usually be a £3 meal prepared by an entirely unpaid volunteer team of 50 people.

 

Daksha explains “Our Community Response Kitchen is driven by love for our community and compassion for those that need help. While we’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness of so many we know that to do more we need to raise money to cover running costs and also ensure we provide a range of balanced, delicious and nutritious food seven days a week”.

 

·       £10 would help sponsor fresh rice and fruit/veg for 20 meals.

·       £20 will enable an unpaid driver to cover the cost of delivery petrol for a day.

·       £50 would sponsor three 10kg bags of wholesale rice – enough rice for 450 meals!!

 

Financial donations will go towards the purchase of food that cannot be sourced by donations with contributions also to:

- Renting premises and kitchen space
- Utility bills 
- Procurement of ingredients to prepare meals (we will continue to try and secure food donations where possible)
- Packaging – needed daily 
- PPE for volunteers – masks, sanitisers, gloves, shoe covers 
- Food Safety and hygiene items for volunteers – hair nets, first aid bands, aprons 
- Cleaning materials – Antibacterial and Anti-Viral sprays and wipes, soap
- Periodic professional deep cleaning of premises 
- Volunteer Driver Expense – donation towards fuel and parking if required 
- Office consumables – E.g. Labels, paper, toner
 






For pictures of the amazing Community Response Kitchen, please visit @communityresponsekitchen on Facebook  or on Instagram .

 

All food prepared at KSL Heather Park Community Hall, Alperton is certified, with local authority registration, food hygiene certificates and insurance. Volunteers follow all hygiene standards and observe social distancing guidance.



Here is a list of some of the huge range of NHS bodies, charities and community groups that are currently supported and we are happy to be contacted by others.


NHS

NHS Nightingale London

Barnet Hospital

Caritas Anchor House 

Croydon University Hospital

Edgware General Hospital

Guys & St. Thomas' Hospital

Harefield Hospital

Hillingdon Hospital – Maternity Ward

Kings College Hospital

National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, London

Newham University Hospital

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

Northwick Park Hospital

Peace Children’s Centre – Watford

Park Royal Medical Centre

Princess Royal University-A&E 

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

St. Mary's Hospital Paddington

UCLH - University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Wexham Park Hospital

Watford General Hospital A&E & Childrens’ Ward

Wrexham Maelor Hospital

 

COUNCIL
Ealing Council Social Services

 

BRENT COMMUNITY GROUPS

Salusbury World

The Granville Community Kitchen

Fresh Horizons Harlesden Foodbank

Rumi’s Kitchen

Willesden Centre for Health

My Romania Community

Sacred Heart RC Church

 

OUTSIDE BRENT

Just Homes, E7

Richard House Children's Hospice

Caritas Anchor House, E16

Queens Park Community Hub (Westminster)

The Avenues Youth Project (Westminster)

Hounslow Helping Hands

Lingwood Court Care Home, East Finchley

 

HILLINGDON

Crisis, Hillingdon

Denham Foodbank

Bell Farm Christian Centre, West Drayton

Help The Homeless, Hillingdon

 

EALING

Trusted Spaces

Home Start

Age UK, Ealing

A.P.P.L.E.

 

SCHOOLS

Salusbury Primary School

Malorees Infant & Junior School

Newman Catholic College

Queens Park Community School

 

 

MUTUAL AID (serving local people directly & charities)

Kensal Green Mutual Aid Group

Brondesbury Mutual Aid Group

Acton Mutual Aid

Willesden Mutual Aid Group

Kilburn Mutual Aid

Dudden Hill Mutual Aid

Dollis Hill Mutual Aid

Harlesden Mutual Aid

Welsh Harp Mutual Aid

Queens Park Mutual Aid

 

Zahida Hassandin Premji, Pharmacist of Watford General Hospital said “Our team work long shifts and the meals have made a big difference to morale and the spirit of the Department. We really look forward to the delicious meals every day”.

 

Giles Deards, Trustee of Queens Park-based refugee support charity, Salusburv World, said “When we first heard of a wife and husband making free food we thought it might be for a week or two. Now dozens of charities across Brent receive hundreds of meals every week, including Salusbury World, four local schools, Fresh Horizons Foodbank, Queens Park Community Hub, Rumi’s Kitchen, the Avenues, mutual aid groups and the new Willesden Mutual Aid Foodbank. It’s about even more than the food; Daksha has inspired us. Salusbury World volunteers have now set up two new food initiatives in Queens Park. We’re delighted to be helping the fundraising for this campaign”.

 

James Carson of Hillingdon Crisis said “Daksha and her team have saved our charity from closure providing us with wide variety of items, a lot of invaluable advice and contacts to help us out. They are an amazing group of very special people”.

 

Andy Lambell of Just Homes in Newham said “Just Homes runs seven hostels for homeless people in Newham and we would have really struggled to stay open if it hadn’t been for the food from Community Response Kitchen five days a week. We’d like to thank Daksha and her team for doing an incredible job”.

 

Shereen Sherry of Acton Mutual Aid said “we are in awe of the Community Response Kitchen and how they magically supply us with 400 weekly meals at a time to help feed the elderly, vulnerable and those in financial hardship across Acton. The meals are delicious and carefully labelled and packaged. It’s clear what we receive is the outcome of a labour of love. Just amazing!”