Hello All,
Three years ago Bridport Community Kitchen opened its doors for the first time.
Our team of dedicated volunteers have supported 100s of the most vulnerable people in our community. We have provided a safe, warm welcoming and friendly environment. We support Bridport homeless community and vulnerably housed with clothes washing facilities, winter survival kits, clothing, hot showers, hot meals and beverages (We have served over 5000 meals since we opened).
We also support:
People with mental health issues
People living in poverty
Family’s and single parents living in poverty
Ukrainian refugees
People with alcohol and substance addictions
This year we have been able to expand the type of support we can offer to include clothes washing facilities and hot showers. We have also added additional opening hours and offered consultation spaces for medical and housing advice. We have strengthened our links with the local town council, NHS medical and mental health advice services, local homeless housing charities, Bridport mental health team & R.E.A.C.H
We are currently supporting 30-40 people across the three days that we are open. This number is increasing as we go through winter. The volunteer team has expanded to meet the increase in demand. Our users have a wide range of needs and issues that require additional support, so we are very pleased to have the presence of a nurse practitioner (NHS Funded) who is allocated to Bridport on Wednesdays and whose role is to support the physical and mental health needs of those who can’t access the health system very easily. We also have representatives attending the kitchen from Julian House Housing Trust team, who are based in Weymouth and support the Bridport homeless community.
In our 2021 Newsletter we set out our goals for 2022
- Increase our opening times.
- Fundraise for clothes washing facilities & power shower & cubicle.
- Create an outdoor environment for our users.
- Apply for grants to enable the kitchen refurbishment.
We increased our opening times to include Thursdays, and this has been very successful as Thursdays have more of a focus on activities such as knitting, crafts , puzzles and and games along with a full lunch menu.
The Bridport community was instrumental in raising the funds that enabled us to purchase and install a washing machine, a dryer and a shower. These much needed additional facilities have proved invaluable to our users and are in great demand.
The court yard project was completed with 30 sq meters of paving slabs, tables, chairs, plants and a BBQ and is a fabulous calm and peaceful space for our users.
I am very pleased to announce, that not only were we successful in our grant funding bids but we have successfully completed the refurbishment of the kitchen facilities and upgraded to a commercial style set up.
We have completed a review of the community kitchen and have identified a number of areas to sustain and strengthen the future of the project. One important area is to achieve sustainable funding, another is the ongoing issue of homelessness in Bridport and our proposal to see emergency safe sleep shelter pods located in Bridport, a project the local town council are very supportive of.
We held our Christmas lunch on Wednesday 14th December which was enjoyed by 40 guests & 12 volunteers with our amazing community contributing towards the Christmas gifts we were able to hand out to our guests. So a big “thank you” to Sam@Morrisons and Lesley@Co-op.
If you have been touched by what you have read and want to support the Bridport Community Kitchen please contact me, Simon on 07866 752 424 or Email: bridportcommunitykitchen@gmail.com You are more than welcome to come and have lunch with us on Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays and see the kitchen in action. We are located at Beacon Church, Priory Lane, Bridport, DT6 3RW. If you would like to make a donation, cheques should be made payable to Beacon Church Bridport (with a note with it saying to go to Bridport Community Kitchen restricted fund).
MANY INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE GIVEN VERY GENEROUSLY AND FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS WE SAY THANK YOU. YOUR SUPPORT IS MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE AND CHANGING LIVES.
Thank you for your time in reading this Newsletter
HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR
FROM ALL @
THE BRIDPORT COMMUNITY KITCHEN
