Today we deliver our last food parcel from the Walworth Community Food Hub.
Together, we’ve delivered 340 tonnes of food – in more than 40,000 parcels – to neighbours across Walworth.
It’s been a genuine neighbourhood effort, and the way this community has come together has been extraordinary.
So to mark the incredible achievements of the past 18 months – and to take the next step in building a longer-term legacy – we’re going to host a Neighbourhood Gathering on Tatum Street, SE17 on Sunday 19 September.
Coming together
This event is an opportunity for all the residents, hub volunteers, riders and partners – old and new – who have worked to support one another to come together.
Perhaps more significant than the number of food parcels that have been delivered is the number of relationships that have formed across the neighbourhood. For many of us, these new friendships will last well beyond the crisis.
For others, the Neighbourhood Gathering will be a chance to reconnect, or to get out and meet new neighbours for the first time.
Looking to the future
The Neighbourhood Gathering is also an opportunity to look to the future.
An ambitious plan is coming together as a legacy of the Food Hub. Residents and partners are building a network of interconnected projects through the Walworth Neighbourhood Food Model.
Together, we want to build a Walworth where no-one is without food or support.
Come to the Neighbourhood Gathering to hear about things that are launching in the coming weeks:
Reopening the Walworth Living Room
As soon as the last food parcel is delivered, work will start to make the Walworth Living Room fit to welcome people back through the doors once more.
Reopening in early October 2021, the Walworth Living Room is a place for neighbours to connect, share ideas and access support.
Walworth Living Room Community Cafe
At the heart of the Walworth Living Room is a new community cafe – where sharing fresh, healthy food and connecting over cups of tea and coffee can help spark conversations and break down barriers.
We’re currently looking for a staff team to run the cafe, and there will be plenty of volunteer opportunities to help us host and serve food.
Walworth Living Room Community Fridge
The Walworth Living Room will also be home to a new ‘community fridge’. Free to use, it’s a simple way to repurpose surplus fresh food, reducing food waste, and is part of a wider national network of community fridges.
Walworth Living Room Community Support Services
The Walworth Living Room will also provide opportunities to build new support services that can be the true legacy of the Food Hub.
The last 18 months have given us a glimpse of a new type of public service – one in which relationships really matter, and where support is provided alongside and through communities.
So we are working with partners like Southwark Council, the NHS and the Citizens Advice Bureau to test how traditional services can be provided differently in community settings like the Walworth Living Room.
Help shape emerging plans
The Neighbourhood Gathering will also be a chance to hear about initiatives that are being developed by local residents, volunteers and groups – and to help shape these plans – including:
- the beginnings of a Walworth-wide food coop that could even grow to a community supermarket on the Walworth Road
- a campaign to establish a new local Community-Owned Pub
- estate-based food buying schemes like the Melanin Community Coop
Neighbourhood resources
Finally, hear about the many brilliant neighbourhood resources that are already up and running and available in the Walworth area, from the Southwark foodbanks and Peckham Pantry to Burgess Sports, Edible Rotherhithe at Surrey Square School, the Walworth Community Garden Network, and many more.
Join us
Come and hear about all this – join the conversation and be part of making it happen – at the Neighbourhood Gathering on Tatum Street, Sunday 19 September, 1-4pm.