Sam shares her journey from class participant to running her own cookery groups.
Sam helps run the Carlton Hill PTA group and their International Women’s group, organising days out & weekly sessions. She is also a wonderful volunteer at the Community Kitchen with her own inspiring cookery journey.
We first met Sam when she took part in one of our Community Cookery courses and she soon became a regular attendee in both our adult and family classes. Sam then applied to join our volunteer team and began supporting others during our cookery sessions. Now with her renewed confidence Sam is hiring the Community Kitchen to host food events for Carlton Hill PTA group.
During a recent hire the group worked together to prepare biriyani and homemade pizzas for 450 pupils and family members. At another session, Sam taught a group of parents how to cook staples including Shepherd’s pie, soup and sticky toffee pudding. Parents have gone onto share these tips in their weekly meet ups and WhatsApp group.
“I started coming to the community classes & courses because mentally I needed it, getting back into the kitchen, cooking, meeting people & get my confidence back. To go from that to now running my own cookery sessions is amazing. I never could have done it when I first started”- Sam
Sam and the rest of the PTA team have worked hard to make the best use of their funding. Initially they were only aiming to feed families on free school meals, but they stretched their resources and instead fed every family at the school. Helping to reduce stigma around free school meals & food poverty. The work doesn’t stop there though. They have plans to create healthy snack bags for the summer holidays & are hosting a summer fair.
“We learned to cook vegetable biriyani, bhajis and samosas from members of the international women’s group and at the same time fed every single child and their families at school”- Sam
The wonderful community was highlighted when Sam’s husband, whom she is a carer for, had an operation and members of the International Women’s Group brought her nutritious meals almost everyday.
“It means a lot to (support the community & low income families) because my husband’s disabled and I’m his carer. I also have two young children and we’ve had to use food banks in the past. So to be able to provide support to other families is amazing.” – Sam
Help us continue to provide our community cookery groups:
- Donations: Your financial support can help ensure the kitchen’s continued operation and reach more individuals in need.
- Attend a class: Buy a ticket for one of our evening and weekend classes and learn new cooking techniques from some of Brighton & Hove’s best chefs and cookery teachers.
- Hire the space: Host your next event at the Community Kitchen and contribute to its mission. We host Team Building events, hen do’s, community groups and parties.
