Cook for Good
Cook for Good is an award-winning social enterprise that brings businesses and communities together through food. We’re tackling food insecurity, social isolation, health inequality and barriers to work on a social housing estate in Kings Cross, through a fantastic community food and cooking programme.
Project Overview
In the past four years, we’ve been working to tackle food insecurity and its underlying causes through:
- A surplus food pantry and soup café – providing members with essential groceries at a fraction of the usual cost, plus the chance to connect over tea, coffee and soup.
- A weekly Wellbeing Café – a mindful space where residents can get support and guidance from our resident psychologist and community peer mentors.
- Free cooking classes and courses, including our Men’s Grub Club and Cook for Health, bringing community members together to learn how to cook healthy meals from scratch.
- A community kitchen – where we cook regular community meals for around 50 residents, and healthy ready meals for Pantry members to enjoy at home.
Now we’re looking to support our community members even further, by offering deeper, more structured support to help them move into work. Ordering one or more copies of Salads for Good will help us bring these plans to life.
We are based in Islington, one of London’s most deprived areas. We know our residents want to access training and supported employment, but there just aren’t many options available. Additionally, we know that not having a job has a negative impact on other social issues including food insecurity, social isolation and health inequality. So we’re raising funds to open doors to work for our community and every pledge we receive will help make this happen.
The funds we raise from Salads for Good will allow us to go deeper with our community, providing affordable food, meaningful connection, better health and pathways into employment.
As part of this work, we will launch a structured training programme which will give 90 local people the skills, training and experience they need to find and keep paid jobs, including:
- Opportunities to volunteer with us to provide work experience and boost confidence
- Employability training through Community Jobs Fairs
- Hospitality specific training through a barista skills programme
- Support finding paid work experience in catering through our network of culinary partners
We’ve got sponsorship in place from our culinary and corporate partners to fund the cost of producing the book, so all the profits from every single copy will help us tackle food insecurity and barriers to work.
Check out the live projects we're supporting
Martin House Childens Hospice
Martin House Children’s Hospice provides free, specialist palliative care to babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions across North, West and East Yorkshire. For almost 40 years, it has supported families through symptom management, respite breaks, emergency and end-of-life care, emotional support and bereavement services. In 2024–25, Martin House supported more than 550 children and young people.
In Tune Radio
Young people today can struggle to gain essential workplace life skills due to school systems that some young people find challenging, with rapid changes in technology and a lack of real-world work experience. This project directly addresses a charitable purpose by advancing education, promoting digital inclusion, and fostering the personal development of young people, some of whom may be disadvantaged due to their personal socioeconomic situation. The project provides structured, non-formal learning in media literacy, journalism, technical audio production, and communication. This goes far beyond standard school curricula.
Share Bristol
At Share Bristol our vision is that everybody shares, so we’re making it easier for everyone in Bristol to borrow everyday things they don’t need every day – tools, camping equipment, party kits, games, kitchen gadgets and so much more. We help people to save money, save space in their homes, and live more sustainably, reducing their impact on the environment through our community-led Library of Things.
