At the end of last year, Sarah-Jayne Law who works for catering food supplier, kff was invited to the launch of Wiggly Worm's community kitchen in Gloucester.
She was so inspired by her visit, she wanted to do more to help the charity, and offered to supply store cupboard ingredients.
Sarah-Jayne explains:
"I had a fantastic opportunity to visit the new kitchen that has been built with the help of ACE donations, and it was clear to me that the work that they are doing isn't just teaching people to cook, it is guiding people into being more independent and in control of their own health by learning to cook food that doesn't just provide calories.
This will impact their children, financial situations, and enrich their lives, by simply teaching them the basics of home cooking, from using good, basic ingredients. Food shouldn't just be about sustenance, it’s about enjoyment, and the environment that Wiggly Worm has created helps build confidence.
These skills can help reduce personal debit, because cooking from scratch is cheaper, and build healthier families, by teaching inspiring meals that are full of a rich mix of ingredients. We all know the importance of food, and holiday hunger, concentration at school and even attendance.
It dawned on me that if we were to send a bunch of herbs and spices, and pasta shapes, and some basic store ingredients that are from all over the world, that we could help inspire a person, or a child in a family whose parent was helped, to become a chef, and to maybe even think about themselves as a global citizen connected with the world through these ingredients. As a charity they could not normally justify the cost of such a diverse range of ingredients.
KFF are also in the process of setting them up an account where they will be able to buy heavily discounted ingredients, should they wish to, for ongoing support. I just wanted to do more, and I wanted the service users I met, to feel like we actually care."