In 2017 we launched the Good Grub Club (GGC), a holiday hunger initiative to support families by providing access to food and connecting the community. The scheme brought families together in safe spaces where they could cook, learn more about healthy eating and take away ingredients to make recipes they had learned at home.
Since the start of the pandemic we’ve had to change the way we run the GGC, but it’s still helping people stay connected and eat well, just in new ways. Instead of families meeting with us at local community hubs, we’re delivering boxes to their door. And great conversation is still taking place too, with people sharing what they’ve cooked up on a dedicated Facebook group.
We’ve always known that projects like the Good Grub Club are essential for communities who find school holidays challenging, but the past 12 months has further highlighted it. Our partners at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation think so too and have awarded the project £1,300 from the Co-Op Food Poverty grant to continue to deliver the club virtually, alongside Colne Avenue Baptist Church.
The funding will support us with buying food and ingredients for the recipe boxes we provide as part of the virtual addition of the Good Grub Club, giving families supplies for two recipes plus an activity pack. They will also have access to a cook along video, showing them how the meal is made by our Community Development Officers.
Our team provide boxes to around 25 families every week of the school holidays, which we will continue to expand on with thanks to the funding from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation.
Learn more about our community investment here.
