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The Larder: A food-focused community hub in Preston
Located right in the heart of Preston, the Larder is a community arts and café and a vibrant local initiative aimed at tackling food insecurity and promoting sustainable living. Set up as a CIC, the organisation is run from a community café opposite Preston Guild Hall by a team of volunteers eager to support the local Lancashire community.
To date, The Larder has received £40,000 in core funding as a recipient of Greggs in the Community funding from The Greggs Foundation.
The Larder aims to combat food poverty, promote healthy eating habits in the local population, and foster better access to local, sustainable food in Preston. The Larder believes that everyone should have access to nutritious food, regardless of their circumstances. They strive to educate the community about the importance of reducing food waste, supporting local food producers, and adopting environmentally friendly practices.
The Larder's success lies in its collaboration with the local community. The initiative works closely with various local organisations - including local food banks and schools - to identify and address the specific needs of individuals and families facing food insecurity. Through partnerships with supermarkets, restaurants, and local farms, The Larder collects and reuses surplus food that would otherwise go to waste. They also supply food vouchers to use at local farmers markets to ensure high quality local ingredients are available to all.
The Larder also offers cooking classes and workshops to help promote healthy eating and share skills and knowledge to make the most of ingredients available to them. The family cooking workshops – known as Kids in the Kitchen - are often full and work to foster a sense of community, encouraging participants to share recipes and cooking tips. All participants in the cooking workshops receive a free insulated food bag with ingredients and recipe cards to take home.
The Kids in the Kitchen initiative reached an even bigger audience during the pandemic as the workshops transferred online – streaming to families at home when they needed it most.
The Greggs in the Community programme is a great way for an organisation such as ours to access core funding that directly funds the salaries of staff we need to deliver the Kids in the Kitchen training programme.Kay Johnson, programme leader at The Larder
Kay Johnson is the programme leader at The Larder and helps drive the values and success of the organisation through a team of volunteers.
She comments:
“Initially, we operated from a small space, relying on donations and volunteer support. As we gained momentum, we were able to secure funding from local government grants and charitable foundations which allowed us to really expand our reach whilst never straying from our aims. We now have a community food hub, which includes a café, and a training kitchen which is where we hold our Kids in the Kitchen workshops.
“The café has become a central gathering place, providing not only nutritious food but also a welcoming environment for the community to hold various social activities such as our regular knitting group which is always a much-loved and well-attended part of the weekly schedule.
“Over the years, our impact has grown significantly, and we’ve really made some important inroads in helping bring together local food producers with people looking for nutritious, local food sources. By forging relationships with local growers and farmers, we have been able to promote better access to locally sourced produce – a key part of helping to improve the nutrition of local people.”
With a focus on social activities, upskilling in the kitchen and local, sustainable food, The Larder is a leading example of a community hub in Lancashire, putting food at the heart of its activities.
Kay continues:
“The Greggs in the Community programme is a great way for an organisation such as ours to access core funding that directly funds the salaries of staff we need to deliver the Kids in the Kitchen training programme. It ensures that money from the local community is being channelled back into local initiatives helping families learn the skills they need to prepare nutritious food. It’s a great programme really helping The Larder to deliver on our aims as we make an impact in the local area.”
Greggs in the Community grants are funded by a portion of the profits donated by Greggs Outlets to The Greggs Foundation. You can learn more about the programme on our grants page.