Salaam Shalom Kitchen – Nottingham

Members of the advisory committees visited the Salam Shalom Kitchen called SaSh in Nottingham, on Wednesday 31st July. SaSh kitchen opens every Wednesday throughout the year offering hot meals in their café style atmosphere and also take away meals and groceries. It is located at The Bridge Centre, United Reformed Church, providing 180 hot meals and grocery bags every Wednesday from 5 – 6.30 pm to people in the Hyson Green area of Nottingham.

We were invited by one of the cochair, Karen Worth, who gave us a good exposure of the kitchen and it was great to witness first hand and to see how the meals are prepared with volunteers and staff. It was amazing to see how the preparation is done, packed and served and more importantly how the communities are benefiting as this is a place for them meet, chat and have meals together to tackle isolation and forming friendships.

In Lincoln we are responding to the needs of the community by setting up an interfaith kitchen with faith communities working together to provide hot meals to all those in need of this support. We have been working on this plan with the advisory committee over the last few months with some active members who have an interest in food. 

There is already lots of wonderful work going on the city. Our purpose for this kitchen is different faith communities working together to prepare a meal and serving it to those in need while offering support when needed.

Our Chair The Revd Steve Holt says, having seen the operation working, this is something that we can and must replicate here in Lincoln but am glad that TCfR is already undertaking this initiative and have set up the advisory committee who has real interest in moving things forward.  In the first 75 minutes of a 2 hour opening approximately 80 people were served and the grocery provision table was open. The opportunity to meet others was an amazing thing to witness.

‘It's great to see a well run kitchen, everyone working together for a common purpose.  Hopefully, we can achieve something like this for Lincoln’ Racheal Phillips, Chair of Lincolnshire Jewish Association and member of LFC

Subash Chellaiah, says, I have been working in the city for over a decade now and have worked with grassroot communities and seen the needs are immense. As the city grows and needs increase we need to help those in need with sustainable support of friendship and social integration. Offering holistic support and signposting elsewhere when needed.