Right To Food: Community Kitchen pilot in West Derby

Last week I arranged a Community Kitchen pilot scheme at St Cecilia’s primary school in Croxteth. The community kitchen model is one of five demands of the Right To Food campaign, which aims to make access to food a legal right, end hunger and stop the need for foodbanks once and for all.

The campaign was backed by Labour conference in 2021. Our ‘Scouse Kitchen’ pilot is a much-needed intervention for many in West Derby. I regularly hear from mums, dads and carers in our constituency who cannot afford to put food on their family’s table.

The spectre of hunger and the need for a Right To Food is very real right here in West Derby, where a recent Survation poll found that 73% of my constituents fear being unable to afford their energy bills next year; 37% fear homelessness within a year and 41% fear they will be using foodbanks inside a year.

The pilot ran for one week and saw the canteen at St Cecilia's Junior School in Tuebrook transformed into a restaurant for families to book a table in the early evening to eat a freshly cooked and nutritious meal together in a dignified setting.

The Scouse Kitchen was open to St Cecilia's pupils and families throughout its run. It is hoped the community kitchen will soon be opened up to the wider community.