Using food to combat the cost-of-living crisis and isolation

The price of food is set to continue to rise amid the latest economic turmoil that has seen inflation stuck at 8.7 per cent.

On top of this, loneliness is a prevalent issue, with people living alone or struggling to create new networks.

Against this backdrop, a small community kitchen is battling to fight food stigma and offers social interaction and affordable meals.

Bristol24/7 delved behind the scenes of the Super Supper Club, based at the Pickle Factory on All Hallows Road, with volunteers Rachel, Freya and Tansie.

Recipes are made using ingredients that otherwise would’ve contributed to food waste

Behind-the-scenes of the kitchen

The kitchen serves up a meal with several courses every Monday and Wednesday for £4 with a preference for cash payment. It is run entirely by volunteers.

Tansie said: “We collect produce from supermarkets, the bread gets old, but it’s still bread. It’s all still edible, the supermarket deems it as unable to sell. It would’ve all gone in the bin for various reasons.”

Volunteers pull up to the kitchen in a van and deliver goods collected from shops like Lidl and Aldi – produce that otherwise would’ve been thrown away.

The menu varies from week to week depending on ingredients and what recipes spring to mind for cook Rachel.

“I’m just full of ideas and we don’t want to cook the same food too frequently,” Rachel said. “We want to keep it fresh.”

“It brings down food waste. People need to eat and it’s quite exciting having to come up with new recipes each time we have a dinner.”

The recipes are changed weekly as cook Rachel likes to keep things fresh and new

Building a space for community growth

One of the big draws of the community kitchen is the chance to interact with new people.

Freya said: “It’s a hugely diverse crowd we get in here. You get to interact with people you otherwise might not have met. It’s a great way to bring the community together”.

“There’s a major age range from 80-year-olds down to smaller children. We have a lot of families that come here every week as well.”

Guests sit wherever there is space, providing opportunities to strike up conversations with fellow diners.

“It’s fun to meet people in real life and organically, which can otherwise be quite hard. If you sit next to someone while you eat, you share stories and chat,” added Tansie.

Super Supper Club provides an opportunity to interact with new people

A community attempting to fight stigma

“There’s a stigma that we’re trying to combat. People think you have to be homeless to come to a community kitchen, but it’s not just a space for that. It’s a great place to meet people,” Tansie said.

A soup kitchen is a place where food is offered to the hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price.

Meanwhile, community kitchens are cooking programs where small groups of people meet on a regular basis to plan, cook and share healthy, affordable meals.

Super Supper Club is designed as a welcoming space for all. From the housing insecure through to those who live alone and want company while, they eat food, it’s a space for the community to meet and learn from one another, network and return favours

Reflected on the benefits of volunteering, Tansie said: “It’s a great way to meet people. There’s a lot of characters here. I think it takes a certain type of person to come to a community kitchen.

“You learn about other cultures, another volunteer had a completely different style of cooking rice. It’s a great way to learn about people and food. It becomes like a family.

“By the end of the night we’re keeping the younger children entertained. Everyone gets involved in whichever way they can.”

Super Supper Club takes place every Monday at 6pm and every Wednesday at 7pm at the Pickle Factory, All Hallows Road.

For more information, visit www.instagram.com/supersupperclubbs5

Andy Leake is reporting on the Lawrence Hill community as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media

All photos: Tansie Congdon

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